Albuquerque could soon benefit from about $20 million in assistance from eight foundations and national programs to boost the city’s efforts to build entrepreneurship and improve support resources for local initiatives, said Gary Oppedahl, director of the city’s Economic Development Department, in a speech at the Economic Forum on Wednesday morning.
A “cluster of philanthropies” are looking at Albuquerque as a bedrock of grassroots entrepreneurship, spurred on by a host of programs and collaboration among local government, business, and public institutions to provide incentives, mentorship and assistance for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators. That’s caught the interest of national organizations such as Living Cities, the Kauffman and Kellogg foundations, and Village Capital, which together could channel about $20 million in support funds to Albuquerque.
Apart from traditional efforts to recruit new firms to New Mexico, the city is focused on supporting existing businesses and growing new ones, Oppedahl said. Those efforts are inspiring a newfound culture of entrepreneurship and community development.
OPPEDAHL: Heads ABQ Economic Development“Everything we’re doing is aimed at creating an environment that inspires the right culture, one where the community knows it can create its own jobs through collaboration, communication and connectivity,” Oppedahl said.
That includes building an innovation district Downtown, plus a range of grassroots programs to inspire broad participation, such as the weekly “1 Million Cups” gathering of entrepreneurs and innovators to share ideas and provide mutual assistance, “Startup Weekends” that help people take the first step to form new businesses, “pitch events” where aspiring entrepreneurs present their ideas for feedback and networking, and a new city-run “Epicenter” Downtown to offer a gathering place for business-minded people with support services and skill-building workshops.
“It’s all about job creation and economic mobility through entrepreneurship and innovation,” Oppedahl said.
Mayor Richard Berry said a national-level “buzz” is building around Albuquerque’s efforts.
“People are talking about us as the ‘next place,’” Berry said during a tour of the city’s new Epicenter on Tuesday. “We’re being seen as the new frontier for entrepreneurship in the U.S.”
By: Kevin Robinson-Avila (Albuquerque Journal)
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