Commodities Management Exchange, Inc. Certified As A Minority Business Enterprise; Certification Will Benefit Minority-Owned Businesses

11 September 2000

Commodities Management Exchange, Inc. Certified As A Minority Business Enterprise; Certification Will Benefit Minority-Owned Businesses

    CHICAGO--Sept. 11, 2000--Commodities Management Exchange, Inc. (cmXchange.com), the leading exchange and commodity manager for base and precious metals, announced today that it was certified as a Minority Business Enterprise by the Chicago Minority Business Development Council (CMBDC).
    Certification by CMBDC allows Commodities Management Exchange to apply for MBE status at all other Minority Business Development Councils across the country. The MBE certification will give Commodities Management Exchange the ability to play a major role in increasing business opportunities between major buying organizations and minority-owned businesses. Minority-owned businesses seeking MBE certification can use transactions performed on cmXchange.com towards MBE credits, making cmXchange.com a one-stop-shop for MBE certification.
    "We are extremely pleased to be certified as an MBE," said A. Demetrius (Tony) Brown, chief executive officer of Commodities Management Exchange. "This certification is an important vehicle for bridging the digital divide between minority- and women-owned corporations and major buying organizations that are adopting e-commerce as a way of efficiently managing their supply chains."
    "This certification is unique in two ways," said Dr. Antonio Caravia, executive vice president of business development for Commodities Management Exchange. "First, it allows corporations to count all transactions performed on cmXchange.com towards MBE credits, and it helps establish a special collaboration among minority and women-owned businesses."
    Minority-owned companies seeking MBE certification must be more than 51 percent minority-owned, and the owner must hold a controlling interest in the company. Applicants must submit a formal application proving minority ownership to the CMBDC certification committee and Board.
    "Minority-owned enterprises looking to become players in the e-commerce field have had limited access to capital markets," said Brown. "By opening its electronic platform to other MBEs, cmXchange.com will help these corporations reduce the time and expense it takes to be a part of the e-commerce revolution, regardless of the industry."
    Commodities Management Exchange, Inc., headquartered in suburban Chicago, is the first Internet-based supply chain manager that serves the global auto industry, including Ford Motor Company, and all of its major suppliers.