ICIC Celebrates National Small Business Changemakers and 2025 IC100 Award Winners

LifePlate, Global Café, and Liaisons Corporation recognized as top Inner City 100 award winners

ATLANTA, GA, May 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) brought entrepreneurs, investors, corporate partners, and industry experts from across the country to Atlanta for its 2026 Annual Conference, Changemakers Take Action—Leveraging Innovation for Growth, a two-day gathering focused on helping small businesses grow, compete, and strengthen their communities.

The conference provided practical business insights, peer learning, and high-impact networking for entrepreneurs in ICIC’s national small business community. The event also served as the national celebration of the 2025 Inner City 100 Awards, which recognize some of the fastest-growing businesses located in under-resourced communities across the United States.

“Small businesses are changemakers in every sense of the word,” said Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC. “They are building companies, creating jobs, strengthening neighborhoods, and driving innovation in their communities. Our Annual Conference gives entrepreneurs access to the ideas, relationships, and visibility that help them continue to grow — and the Inner City 100 Awards allow us to celebrate the extraordinary businesses leading the way.”

Since 1999, ICIC has identified and celebrated high-growth companies in under-resourced communities through the Inner City 100 Awards. The 2025 IC100 list features a wide range of companies across 21 industries, with honorees reporting an average 435% four-year revenue growth and 2,277 jobs created between 2020 and 2024.

ICIC Announces 2025 Special Award Winners

Each year, ICIC recognizes three companies from the Inner City 100 list with special awards honoring business growth, community impact, and global entrepreneurship.

• LifePlate — Business Growth Award Winner
  LifePlate, co-founded by Christopher and Deana Young, received the Business Growth Award, which recognizes the fastest-growing company on the IC100 list based on percentage revenue growth from 2020 through 2024. Based in Dallas, LifePlate is a plant-forward meal delivery company serving homes, offices, and schools, offering fresh, hot lunch delivery to students through a monthly subscription model with customizable options for dietary and scheduling needs, along with ready-to-eat meal deliveries and cooking experiences.

• Global Café — Dorothy A. Terrell Community Impact Award Winner
  Global Café, based in Memphis, received the Dorothy A. Terrell Community Impact Award, named in honor of ICIC’s first President and CEO. The award recognizes the IC100 company with the greatest impact on its community through quality job creation and civic engagement. Global Café is a food hall offering authentic, affordably priced global cuisine prepared by immigrant and refugee food entrepreneurs. Located in Memphis’ Crosstown neighborhood, Global Café has employed team members from countries including Bhutan, Burundi, Jamaica, Mexico, Syria, and Somalia, while supporting newcomers through employment, training, scholarships, school supplies, and free meals.

• Liaisons Corporation — FedEx Champion of Global Entrepreneurship Award Winner
  Liaisons Corporation received the FedEx Champion of Global Entrepreneurship Award, which recognizes an Inner City 100 company that embodies FedEx’s commitment to diversity, global trade, empowering entrepreneurs, and creating employment opportunities. Based in Miami and Mexico City, Liaisons is a boutique agency specializing in corporate events and group travel. For more than 15 years, the company has collaborated with museums, nonprofits, corporations, membership clubs, private groups, and global brands to deliver experiences in more than 70 cities across 30 countries.

“These award winners represent the strength and possibility of entrepreneurs in under-resourced communities,” said Steve Grossman. “LifePlate, Global Café, and Liaisons Corporation are growing businesses with purpose — creating jobs, expanding opportunity, and showing how entrepreneurship can drive both business success and community impact.”

Annual Conference Highlights

The 2026 Annual Conference featured a dynamic program designed to help entrepreneurs take action in their businesses and communities. Sessions focused on innovation, AI adoption, capital access, procurement opportunities, brand positioning, business growth, and neighborhood revitalization.

Highlights included keynote speakers Tiran Jackson, Halim Flowers, and Cliff Oxford; a Business Growth Marketplace connecting ICIC alumni businesses, funders, and ecosystem partners; and a Gentler, Kinder Shark Tank-style Pitch Competition featuring entrepreneurs from ICIC’s Inner City Capital Connections program and a panel of expert judges who provided live feedback. The program also included sessions led by Dobbin Bookman, ICIC’s Director of AI Initiatives, focused on practical ways entrepreneurs can use AI and emerging technologies to strengthen marketing, streamline operations, and improve decision-making.

The conference was made possible through the support of ICIC’s sponsors and partners: Kaiser Permanente - Principal Sponsor; Bank of America and FedEx - Visionary Sponsors; Bain Capital, Home Depot,  Intuit, and Regions Bank - Innovator Sponsors;  Appleton Partners and Arctaris Impact Investors - Pioneer Sponsors; and Forward Financing - Partner Sponsor.

About ICIC

The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) is a national nonprofit dedicated to helping small businesses in under-resourced communities thrive through programming and research. Founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Dr. Michael E. Porter, ICIC provides executive education, coaching, technical assistance, and access to capital to thousands of businesses each year. Through its research and partnerships, ICIC facilitates private-sector investment and economic development that strengthens local economies and creates opportunity.

In 2025 alone, ICIC equipped more than 3,200 small businesses for growth across 1,300 communities nationwide. ICIC continues to advance innovation in small business growth through initiatives, including the Manufacturing Accelerator Program, its expanded partnership with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, and AI training embedded across ICIC executive education programs.

 Sarah Ginand
ICIC
+1 617-803-4532 
sginand@icic.org

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