City Launches Oʻahu Business Connector to Help Small Businesses
HONOLULU – Mayor Rick Blangiardi is encouraging small businesses to use the City and County of Honolulu’s new online platform oahubusinessconnector.org to find resources to grow and create good jobs for our community. The website is part of the Office of Economic Revitalization’s (OER) new Oʻahu Business Connector program that supports small businesses in person, in the community, online, and by phone and email.
Oahubusinessconnector.org lists more than 70 local business support organizations. These organizations can provide small businesses with free or low-cost assistance with essential skills including digital marketing, business planning, securing capital, financial strategy, recruiting, talent management, and more.
Oʻahu Business Connector also includes:
How-to videos for on-demand learning
An online calendar and weekly newsletter with the latest workshops and webinars for small businesses
Phone and email support at (808) 768-2622 and obc@honolulu.gov during City business hours
The website is the program’s digital brain; the Oʻahu Business Connector’s heart and soul is OER’s four-person team of Resource Connectors who meet in person with businesses. In the past four years, Resource Connectors have worked with 4,700 small businesses. They had direct contact with 1,200 local businesses last year. The Resource Connector team also staffs Small Business Connection hubs each month in West Oʻahu, the North Shore, Honolulu, and Kāneʻohe to provide in-person help for businesses without a storefront.
“We are using technology everywhere we can and the Oʻahu Business Connector is an incredibly powerful tool. But the thing I love about this program is that it is so human,” said Mayor Blangiardi. “It is human intensive, it is coaching, it is people helping people. The Oʻahu Business Connector enhances the tremendous personal assistance that the Resource Connectors provide to our local businesses on a face-to-face basis. Bravo to OER for their hard work on the ground and for creating this innovative online resource.”
Since 2020, the Office of Economic Revitalization has supported the City’s grants to small businesses hit hard by the pandemic. Early on, OER observed that many local businesses used shoeboxes full of invoices and receipts to apply for grants. These same mom-and-pop operations can be strengthened and supported by the Oʻahu Business Connector. OER recognizes the critical role small businesses play in their communities, because they hire locally, and are more likely to give back to the people and places where they do business. Their feedback will continue to guide OER’s important work.
To learn more about the Connector, visit oahubusinessconnector.org.
