EARVIN "Magic" JOHNSON, LINDA JOHNSON RICE,
EARL GRAVES JR. AND DAVE BING AMONG
NATION'S TOP AFRICAN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEURS
TO JUDGE FINALS IN FORD'S HBCU CLASSIC
BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

Ford's Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU) Business Classic, a real world business plan competition with a combined total of $100,000 in scholarships, is open to 370,000 HBCU students nationwide; Deadline for entries is January 15, 2005.

(AANEWSWIRE)DETROIT, Mich., November, 2004--Ford Motor Company continues its pioneering efforts to increase the success of African American entrepreneurs with the HBCU Business Classic, a business plan competition for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which kicked off this fall during HBCU week in Washington D.C.

The HBCU Business Classic allows all HBCU students to put their classroom knowledge to test in a real-world business plan competition. Winners will receive a combined total of $100,000 in scholarships for their respective teams and schools. Deadline for entries in Ford's HBCU Business Classic ends January 15, 2005. Information can be found on the Web site at www.ford.com/go/hbcu.

"Ford continues to recognize a need in the Black business community to educate and develop the next generation of Black entrepreneurs," said Tony Brown, senior vice president, Global Purchasing, Ford Motor Company. "This competition will empower HBCU students to achieve personal wealth, and have a residual effect of building communities through economic development, one of the core goals of Ford Motor Company since its inception."

The competition is open to all HBCU students nationwide. To enter, individuals or teams of two to five students and a faculty advisor must submit a 10-page business plan via the Ford HBCU Business Web site at www.ford.com/go/hbcu. The plans must be comprised of these main elements: type of business, product or service, pricing considerations, target market and competition, and general operations. Ford will also provide all students who participate with a free online subscription to DiversityInc.com.

An advisory panel of SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Businesses will then judge the plans based on the following criteria: overall presentation of the business plan, the viability of its success and overall benefit to the community. The panel will narrow the competition down to five semifinal teams that will advance to the finals. The five finalists will then be judged by a group of prestigious entrepreneurs including: Dave Bing, chairman, The Bing Group; Renee Cottrell-Brown, executive vice president of Pro-Line International; George Fraser, bestselling author and CEO of FraserNet Inc.; Earl "Butch" Graves Jr., president & COO of Earl G. Graves Publishing Company; Earvin "Magic" Johnson, president of Magic Johnson Enterprises; Linda Johnson Rice, president and CEO of Johnson Publishing Company; and Susan L. Taylor, Senior Vice President and Editorial Director of ESSENCE Magazine.

The competition winners will be chosen during the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) national conference to take place April 20-24, 2005 in Washington, D.C. The first place team will receive $35,000 for personal scholarships and $15,000 for their school. The second and third place teams will receive $20,000 and $15,000 for personal scholarships and $10,000 and $5,000 for their respective schools.

For more than 40 years, Ford has been a major supporter of the hopes and dreams of HBCU students. In the last five years alone, Ford has given over $10 million to Black colleges and universities.

In June, Ford announced a partnership with Babson College and participating Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to launch the first-ever academic program to focus on Black entrepreneurship. Babson, which is ranked first in entrepreneurship education by U.S. News & World Report (2003), is helping build business curricula, currently focusing on case studies of successful Black entrepreneurs. Ford is also involved in exchange programs between the HBCUs and Babson College faculty, sponsoring symposia that "teach the teachers" how to impart entrepreneurship knowledge.

The Ford Fund is also expanding its Partnership for Advanced Studies (PAS) program for high school students to include HBCUs. The PAS program prepares students for college and careers by combining real-world knowledge and skills with learning opportunities.

Supporting Black entrepreneurship makes good business sense, according to George Frame, executive director, Dealer Development, Ford Motor Company. "When we create opportunities for entrepreneurs, they seize those opportunities and bring wealth back to the community. As that wealth is spread around the community, that's a winning situation for all involved."

Ford Motor Company leads the auto industry in minority auto dealerships, with 345 minority dealers in the U.S. This represents 6.7 percent of Ford's 5,127 dealerships, the highest percentage of minority dealers of any domestic automaker in the U.S. In 2003, Ford spent more than $3.2 billion in purchases from around 300 minority suppliers, representing 6 percent of the company's procurement budget.

Photo Caption: Magic Johnson, Linda Johnson Rice, Earl "Butch" Graves Jr. and Dave Bing

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