MOLINE, Ill. — Business and culture collided at the 8th annual Quad Cities Black Business Expo.
It was held Saturday, Feb. 25 at SouthPark Mall in Moline, where local black business owners got the chance to showcase their products.
"This is an annual event for us that we always do on the last Saturday of February as a way to end Black History Month," CEO of QC Empowerment Network Tracy Singleton said.
Singleton said more than 50 vendors were at the event, up from around 20 vendors in 2015, when the expo first kicked off.
QC Empowerment Network provides resources and advocacy for black small business owners.
"With this black business area, we have just really found our niche in creating space advocating for them, providing resources, even finding funding for these businesses," Singleton said.
Singleton said the event averages 400 to 500 shoppers. News 8 spoke with the owner of E-Class Events & Shuttles, Vernon Wilmington, who said 2023 was his first time being a vendor at the expo.
"My business is two years old," Wilmington said. "So it's fairly new, and I had an opportunity to be a part of it with Tracy and her team. It has been a great experience so far."
"I think it's inspirational," Wilmington said. "Because when you see so many black businesses that you didn't know existed, and you come to a place like this, and you see that, it opens your eyes, you either say, 'hey, that's great, I want to support, or hey, that's great, I can do it as well'."
As for what's next for QC Empowerment Network, its holding an open-air market in the summer of 2023.