Our Mission
Our mission is to be a resource to others. In the fields of Compliance, Finance, Marketing, and Web Development, the FBDC hopes to empower the Bronx community by collaborating with small businesses and sharing ideas that promote sustainable growth and inclusive business ideologies.
Compliance
Federal Regulations
NYC Regulations
NY State Regulations
Finance
Loan Financing
Performance Management
Strategy
Marketing
Branding
Marketing Research
Social Media
Web Development
Information Systems
Site Development
Web Consulting

About Us
The Fordham Business Development Collaboratory, the FBDC, is an initiative with the Social Innovation Collaboratory at Fordham University. The FBDC intends to build partnerships with businesses across the Bronx, while also being a resource for compliance, finance, marketing, and web development needs. Historically, financial exclusion is an issue that has unfairly affected residents of minority-majority communities like The Bronx. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent events have disproportionately harmed Bronx small business owners. In response, we have assembled a cohort of passionate, diverse, and qualified students from Fordham University to offer cost-free consulting services for any local Bronx businesses interested in partnering with our team.
This initiative, spearheaded by the Social Innovation Collaboratory, aims to address short-term and long-term needs for small businesses facing adversity compounded by the pandemic. The FBDC is committed to uplifting The Bronx economically and socially, as well as being part of the anti-racism campaign that Fordham University is currently conducting. Thus, the undergraduate and graduate departments of students and faculty have joined to establish a way to better integrate the Bronx community with the University’s day-to-day operations.
Each team is made up of students who are pursuing degrees in the areas of compliance, finance, marketing, or web development; who have previous experience working in these fields of interest; or who plan on working with professors and other professional contacts to ensure our student collaborators have adequate knowledge and qualifications for each one of our business-related endeavors.
Through the use of our communications team, as well, we hope to create a virtual hub of information to be readily available for any small business to utilize. Within our resources we hope to provide infographics, reports, and videos that are easy to understand and cover important issues relating to compliance, finance, marketing, and web development.
Welcome to the FBDC!
Get to know some of the team and learn some more about what we do!
Want to learn more about the FBDC?
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Meet some of the Team!

Rich Shrestha
Executive Director
Fordham College at Rose Hill | Class of 2022
Economics Major with a Minor in Classical Civilization
“Being a resident of the campus community for the past few years, I have observed how Fordham interacts with the Bronx. The barriers between both parties are explicit and implicit, and I see the FBDC as a way to connect the student body with the Bronx community and culture. In doing so, I hope that students will become members of the Bronx rather than just students at Fordham.”

Matthew Rosa Ruane
Assistant Executive Director
Gabelli School of Business at Rose Hill | Class of 2023
Applied Accounting and Finance Major
“I see the FBDC as a way for Fordham students to get involved and become a part of the community that hosts our University. Many of us, at Fordham, are merely guests of the Bronx during our four years here, and I believe that through the work of the FBDC we can become true members of the community. I hope to make a lasting impact on the Bronx small business community through the FBDC, and get to know more of the community.”