New eight-state regional support hub for minority entrepreneurs established
Tennessee is one of eight states where entrepreneurs and innovators will be served by the new Southeast Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Growth Hub.
The initiative is a partnership involving the Georgia Institute of Technology, Morehouse College and PRENEURology Global. The two-year pilot is funded by a $1.4 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Commerce MBDA to establish a collaborative support network for minority entrepreneurs in the Hub that will serve Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina in addition to Tennessee.
Led by the Atlanta MBDA Centers at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), the Southeast MBDA Business Growth Hub will operate both virtually and in-person as a regional, blended network of entrepreneur spaces, education pathways, and engagement programs. The Hub will also serve as an access point to corporations, financing, and other government programs.
According to the recent announcement, the program is designed to overcome the limited participation of minorities in local innovation ecosystems while giving them access to a broader regional network of connections, experiences, and expertise in the eight-state region.
