After more than four decades in Memphis’ economic development ecosystem, the Mid-South Minority Business Council Continuum is entering what CEO Jozelle Luster Booker calls its next stage of evolution.
On Thursday, the organization will officially rebrand as “The Mid-South Business Continuum” — a shift Booker says reflects what the institution has already become.
“This is an evolution of who we are,” Booker said Tuesday in an interview with the TSD. “When you’ve been in the marketplace for over 40 years, people get familiar with what they think you do. But we’ve evolved.”
The word “evolution” surfaced repeatedly as Booker described the organization’s trajectory — from a procurement referral council formed to address high unemployment in the Black community, to what is now a systems-driven business infrastructure engine serving companies across the Mid-South.
Over time, she said, the work expanded beyond maintaining a list of minority-owned vendors for corporate buyers.
“When we were first created, the thought was, let’s have a list of companies that we can share with corporate partners,” Booker said. “Today, it’s much more than that.”
For Booker, the greater challenge isn’t explaining what the organization does now — it’s recalibrating public perception.
“When you’ve been in the marketplace for over 40 years, people get familiar with what they think you do,” she said. “We sit down with people all the time and they say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you all do that.’”
That perception gap, she said, is one of the primary drivers behind the repositioning.
Over the years, what began as a procurement referral council evolved into what Booker describes as a fully institutionalized business development system — complete with in-house procurement expertise, readiness assessments, scalable tools and lifecycle planning designed to move companies from startup to contract-ready and beyond.
“People who were connected to us five or 10 years ago would see a very different organization today,” Booker said.
Board Chairman Keith Norman has echoed that broader framing, emphasizing that economic inclusion is not simply about access, but about building durable systems that allow entrepreneurs to compete and grow.
“The Mid-South business community is stronger when every entrepreneur has access to opportunity,” Norman said in a statement regarding the rebrand. “This name change reflects our evolution while honoring our legacy. We remain committed to economic growth, but now we can serve more businesses to create even greater impact.”
The Continuum now operates around what Booker calls a lifecycle model — meeting businesses where they are, assessing readiness, and building a structured path to the “next step on the continuum.”
That structural evolution is backed by measurable scale. According to the organization’s recently released four-year Economic Impact Report, businesses connected through the Continuum generated more than $1.4 billion in contract awards between 2022 and 2025, supporting more than 31,000 jobs and producing over $319 million in capital awards. Annual economic impact during that period exceeded $700 million.
“The purpose of that report is to show that small business has big return,” Booker said. “Small businesses create significant economic impact for communities.”
The name change also clarifies something that has been true for decades. Although founded as part of a national minority business council structure, the organization broadened its access model in the early 1980s after deciding it was in Memphis’ best interest to serve a wider range of businesses.
“We made the decision about what was best for Memphis,” Booker said. “We have a model that we believe is best for Memphis.”
The Mid-South Business Continuum will continue connecting small businesses to public and private procurement opportunities through its B2B arm, while its sister 501(c)(3), TADP Inc., will continue pursuing grants and delivering technical assistance to both B2B and B2C firms.
The repositioning language emphasizes “Expanding Access. Powering Progress.”
But Booker is careful to frame the work less as a program and more as a system.
“I am not a proponent of program language,” she said. “I’m a proponent of system and process language.”
At its core, she said, the Continuum focuses on preparing businesses to be “qualified, capable and competitive” — ready to meet demand in the marketplace regardless of shifting policy or political language.
“If you’re not prepared foundationally, it doesn’t matter what program exists,” Booker said.
For Booker, the organization’s evolution is inseparable from Memphis’ own.
“When you create jobs, you give people hope. You strengthen neighborhoods. You improve quality of life,” she said. “We’re not Atlanta. We’re Memphis. And we have to look at what we want Memphis to be.”
After 40 years, the name may be changing. But Booker insists the mission — and the momentum — remain intact.
“This is just the next stage,” she said. “And if you believe in Memphis and want what’s best for Memphis and future generations, come invest.”
