Government Stories

KC BizCare awarded $300K by Kauffman for small business census, new ESO accelerator

Entrepreneurial support organizations experience many of the same challenges faced by Kansas City’s small business community, stifling their effectiveness, Nia Richardson noted.  “This includes staffing and resource constraints, lack of business education and practical experience, and fragmented systems of support. Without addressing these structural and systemic constraints, enabling equitable and inclusive small business growth will…

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaking at SXSW; photo by Channa Steinmetz/Startland News

Five KC-area projects get green light for $48.2M in federal funds to bolster supply chain, support racial equity, economic growth

A federal push to make U.S. transportation systems safer, as well as more accessible, affordable, and sustainable will boost a handful of Kansas City modernization projects — including two that would reconnect east-west communities within the metro, the nation’s top transportation official announced Thursday. Nearly $48.2 million in funding is slated for local planning and capital…

Mike Plunkett and John Thomson, PayIt

ROI from PayIt’s recent $90M investment displays value of MTC’s early support, agency says

Marquee successes for two Show Me state companies — including a massive funding round for one rapidly growing Kansas City govtech scaleup — show the value of Missouri Technology Corporation’s early stage investment programs, said state and agency officials Thursday. A key example, they touted: PayIt, a SaaS platform that simplifies interactions between government agencies and…

LaunchKC accelerator

LaunchKC reviving $50K grants competition with 8 big checks for startups ready to call KC home

After a four-year hiatus, LaunchKC is officially set to bring back its signature grants competition. Early-stage tech companies will have the opportunity to each win $50,000 in non-dilutive grants, plus access to business support and networking.  Co-founded by the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri, (EDCKC) and Downtown Council (DTC), the non-profit LaunchKC’s cornerstone…

New state awards aim to honor ‘Cool things made in Kansas,’ unconventional talent sources

Kansas businesses and entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the Sunflower State, said David Toland, announcing the return of Kansas’ annual awards program aimed at recognizing businesses across the state for the contributions they make to the state economy and to the well-being of their communities. “They are what make our state strong, prosperous and successful…