FIVE HBCU STUDENT FINALISTS TO COMPETE
FOR FORD SCHOLARSHIPS

DEARBORN, Mich., March 7, 2005 - Ford Motor Company has named five finalists for its HBCU Business Classic, the entrepreneurial business plan competition designed for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Teams from Howard University, Florida A&M University, North Carolina A&T University, Texas Southern University and Xavier University of Louisiana will vie for $100,000 in scholarship prizes.

Ford launched the HBCU Business Classic in the fall of 2004 to encourage African American students to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-world entrepreneurial business plan competition. The finals will be held during the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) National Conference in Washington, D.C, on April 23.

"The inaugural HBCU Business Classic has garnered a strong turnout from colleges and universities from across the country," said Tony Brown, senior vice president, Global Purchasing, Ford Motor Company. "This competition empowers HBCU students to discover what it takes to become an entrepreneur. I am proud of all the students who participated in the competition. They will all walk away with a tremendous learning experience."

The competition was open to HBCU students nationwide. To enter, individuals or teams of two to five students and a faculty advisor were asked to submit a 10-page business plan via the Ford HBCU Business Web site at www.ford.com/go/hbcu. The plans were required to comprise five key elements: type of business, product or service, pricing considerations, target market and competition, and general operations. Initial business plans were judged by a panel of SCORE

"Counselors to America's Small Business," using the following criteria: overall presentation, its viability of success and overall benefit to the community. SCORE narrowed the competition to the five teams that are advancing to the finals, this spring.

In Washington D.C., a panel of prestigious entrepreneurs will judge the finals. They include: Earvin "Magic" Johnson, president of Magic Johnson Enterprises; Dave Bing, chairman and CEO of The Bing Group; George Fraser, best-selling author and president of FraserNet; Earl "Butch" Graves, president & CEO of Earl G. Graves Publishing Company; Renee Cottrell-Brown, executive vice president of Pro-Line International; Dennis Boston, senior vice president of Ebony Publishing; and Diane Weathers, editor-in-chief of Essence magazine.

"We want more African American entrepreneurs to understand that they can put a business right in their own community and hire 20-30 employees, which in turn helps drive the property value in that community," said Earvin "Magic" Johnson. "We want to support our communities by inspiring these finalists to be good business leaders."

The first-place team will receive $35,000 in personal scholarship funds and $15,000 in funds for their HBCU school. The second-place team will receive $20,000 in personal scholarship funds and $15,000 for its HBCU school. The third-place team will receive $10,000 in personal scholarship funds and $5,000 for their HBCU school.

To view a list of the five finalists and brief business plan synopses please click here.