Delta Regional Authority launches Delta Challenge pitch competitions to identify and strengthen entrepreneurs in Delta Entrepreneurship Network will cultivate innovation, growth in regional entrepreneurial community CLARKSDALE, Miss. – The Delta Regional Authority has launched The Delta Challenge—a series of entrepreneurship pitch competitions—as part of a newly established program called the DRA Entrepreneurship Network to boost entrepreneurial success in the Delta region and Alabama Black Belt—DRA Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill announced today. The Entrepreneurship Network builds on a key partnership with The Idea Village to identify, connect, nurture and grow entrepreneurs from across the Delta region and Alabama Black Belt by addressing regional deficiencies in capital, training, and best practices through a connected infrastructure of support organizations, investors, and educators. “The DRA’s Entrepreneurship Network will provide regional entrepreneurs and support organizations with the additional connections, access, and tools they need to achieve entrepreneurial success and support their local communities,” DRA Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill said. “Our region’s entrepreneurs have the innovation and creativity to develop highly successful and scalable products and ideas to grow our regional economy as well as identify solutions to our region’s greatest challenges.” The new program seeks to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the Delta region and broaden the region’s cultural understanding of entrepreneurship. The Delta Challenge pitch competitions will help regional leadership to identify up to 16 Entrepreneurship Network fellows and will take place in five communities across the region: •Cape Girardeau, Missouri – February 24, 2015 •Ruston, Louisiana – February 26, 2015 •Jackson, Mississippi – February 27, 2015 •Jonesboro, Arkansas – February 28, 2015 •Linden, Alabama – March 2, 2015 As a part of the Network’s development, DRA is also accepting applications from individuals and non-profit organizations that provide direct entrepreneurship support or educational services. Representatives from up to 16 support organizations will be identified to join the Network. Application guidelines and instructions for interested entrepreneurs and support organizations can be found at dra.gov/entrepreneur. The winners of the Delta Challenge competitions and those entrepreneurship support organizations selected will be designated as Entrepreneurship Network Fellows. The fellowship will include participation in a special segment of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW), produced by The Idea Village, on March 20-27, 2015. Network Fellows will showcase their ideas to investors, connect with fellow entrepreneurs, industry experts, and mentors, and participate in programmatic workshops. Entrepreneurship support organization representatives will receive access to emerging entrepreneurs, gain technical knowledge and training, expand their entrepreneurship support network, and learn additional entrepreneurial ecosystem development strategies. “Over the last 15 years, the New Orleans community has worked together to establish itself as a leading entrepreneurial hub and New Orleans Entrepreneur Week has become a nationally recognized event to showcase entrepreneurial talent in New Orleans, ” said Tim Williamson, Co-founder and CEO of The Idea Village. “We are excited to partner with the DRA to scale NOEW as a powerful platform for showcasing entrepreneurship across the South.” The Idea Village has been globally recognized as a model for place-based economic development through entrepreneurship and has been a steadfast advocate for making New Orleans a vibrant entrepreneurial community. Applications for both the Delta Challenge and the Entrepreneurship Support Organizations open January 15, 2015. Entrepreneurship Support Organization applications are due by midnight CST on February 15, 2015. Two webinars will be held to outline application guidelines and address any questions from the public on January 27 and February 3. To register for either webinar, visit dra.gov. The Network continues DRA investments into the Delta region’s entrepreneurial community through the DRA’s Small Business & Entrepreneurship Initiative, directly aligning with the DRA’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship Policy Framework. ______________________________________________________ About the Delta Regional Authority The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership created by Congress in 2000 to help create jobs, build communities, and improve lives through strategic investments in economic development in 252 counties and parishes across eight states. Through the past twelve project cycles, the DRA is helping to create and retain 41,000 jobs. These investments have leveraged $2.7 billion in other public and private investment with DRA projects that are helping to train 26,000 for a 21st century workforce and provide more than 61,000 families access to clean water and sewer services. Through its Small Business and Entrepreneurship Initiative, the DRA has invested $8.7 million in small businesses and entrepreneurship in the Delta, creating and retaining more than 1,250 jobs, training more than 1,400 entrepreneurs, and leveraging $16 million in other public and private investment. dra.gov About The Idea Village In 2000, The Idea Village was formed by a group of New Orleans citizens who believed entrepreneurship is a catalyst for positive change. The Idea Village formalized in 2002 as an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to identify, support, and retain entrepreneurial talent in New Orleans by providing direct service to high impact entrepreneurs, educating the broader community, and supporting initiatives that strengthen our entrepreneurial infrastructure. From 2009-2014, The Idea Village has provided direct support to over 3,411 New Orleans entrepreneurs by engaging over 2,600 professionals to allocate 68,543 consulting hours and $2.5 million in seed capital. In addition, The Idea Village hosts New Orleans Entrepreneur Week, a business festival that has become the platform for the New Orleans entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Idea Village Gold Excellence award from the International Economic Development Council for our Entrepreneur Season model in 2012 and were recognized as a top-three entrepreneurship ecosystem developer in 2014 by the Global Innovation Summit. The Idea Village has also been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Time, USA Today, The New York Times, Business Week, CNN, Inc, Forbes, Japan’s Nikkei Times, etc. ideavillage.org
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 19:14:56 +0000
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