Innovation
Because much of the support for entrepreneurs in the region is centered in urban and suburban areas, ECD's regional staff will market the services available at the Entrepreneur Center, the Nashville-based accelerator that received a $250,000 grant as part of ECD's INCITE program, to contacts in both inner city and rural areas of the region. Northern Middle Tennessee is a
leader in entrepreneurial activity among the nine regions due to its higher education assets, established industry clusters, and concentration of venture capital firms, but the rural counties in the region have not traditionally enjoyed the same access to entrepreneurial support as their urban and suburban counterparts.
Similarly, we see an opportunity for expanded outreach in some of our more distressed urban areas. To remedy this problem, ECD regional staff will make efforts to make economic development professionals as well as community and business leaders located in the region's inner city and rural areas aware of the Entrepreneur Center and its services. The regional staff's goal is to have entrepreneurs from each of the region's rural counties participate in an Entrepreneur Center program in 2012.
In addition to this marketing initiative aimed at underserved markets, ECD regional staff also intends to work with the Entrepreneur Center to link all of the area's entrepreneurial support services. This will be accomplished by bringing all of the organizations together that support start-up and high-growth businesses. Through this effort, a framework for cooperation between the various organizations will be established.
next: Workforce Development
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Northern Middle Tennessee is a
leader in entrepreneurial activity among the nine regions due to its higher education assets, established industry clusters, and concentration of venture capital firms.
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