Tech Talkin' Govs, Part IV
New Kauffman Foundation Competition Encourages Female Scientists and Engineers to pursue Entrepreneurial Ventures
The Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation announced its first Women in Science and Engineering Business Idea Competition to encourage female scientists and engineers to pursue entrepreneurial ventures. The competition's goal is totap into the "growing pool of highly educated women who have the potential to start scalable science and engineering-related ventures".
Universities Turn Focus on Entrepreneurship to Boost Regional Economies
Recognizing startup businesses as a powerful force in building stronger local economies, a number of universities across the country have announced significant expansions in their entrepreneurship offerings over the last few weeks. Universities in Missouri and Virginia have announced new and expanded entrepreneurship programs for students, while a nationwide network of top business schools, including Babson College, Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco, plans to launch an online entrepreneurship program that can be licensed to other schools. The U.S.
Heartland Metros Launch Collaborative Economic Initiative
Leaders in Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha and St. Louis have teamed up to leverage their respective resources and help build an economic mega-region in the center of the country. The Heartland Civic Collaborative will focus on four main areas of opportunity: transportation, federal advocacy, life science and entrepreneurship. In the coming months, the collaborative plans to begin work on an entrepreneurial metrics dashboard for the participating metros and a map of life sciences research assets.
MO Gov Announces Nearly $3M in Funding to Support Startups Statewide
On November 12, Gov. Jay Nixon announced $1 million in state funding to ARCH Grants to provide entrepreneurial support to St. Louis startups. ARCH Grants is a nonprofit organization that provides $50,000 equity-free grants and pro-bono services to entrepreneurs who locate their early stage businesses in St. Louis. This is Gov.
New Programs in St. Louis, Twin Cities Connect Startups With Corporations
Recently announced programs in the St. Louis and Minneapolis-St. Paul regions offer startups and major corporations new chances to connect and work together. Pioneered by Illinois’ Corporate Startup Challenge, these types of programs seek to build bridges between important components of the innovation ecosystem: revolutionary new products and services and established market leaders.
St Louis Targets Entrepreneurs, Foreign-Born Residents for Economic Growth
The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, a group created when the St. Louis County Economic Council and the city’s St. Louis Development Corp. merged last year, has released an ambitious economic strategy for the region. Planners are calling for collaboration between the region’s economic development organizations and startup initiatives, such as Accelerate St.
Missouri’s new strategic plan aims to boost statewide innovation and entrepreneurship
Missouri has a new tool to support the advancement of entrepreneurship and innovation across the state. The Missouri Technology Corporation (MTC), in partnership with TEConomy Partners LLC., identified strategic recommendations and actions to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in Missouri developed under the Missouri Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategy Steering Committee.
$300 million gift to MO higher ed will support innovation and entrepreneurship
In the largest single gift in the history of Missouri higher education, $300 million has been donated to support Missouri S&T that will enable the university to establish a new school of innovation and entrepreneurship, among other things. The benefactors are St. Louis businessman Fred Kummer, a graduate of the school who credited the education he received there with his success, and his wife.