Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
Kauffman Foundation rolls out $1.2M microlending program to help underserved entrepreneurs
Amid a swarm of 160 events as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation announced a new microlending program to spur investment in underserved entrepreneurs. In partnership with four microfinance lenders, the foundation issued a series of grants totaling $1.2 million that a will change the way the nonprofit microlenders capitalize their…
GEW hopes to spark innovation, connections among entrepreneurs
Global Entrepreneurship Week is about helping businesses that start in Kansas City stay in Kansas City, Jenny Miller said. And it’s for more than the traditional “startup” crowd, the network builder at KCSourceLink said. “GEWKC connects people who may not identify as ‘entrepreneurs’ – those who may think of themselves as makers, creators, freelancers, artists,…
Kauffman: Going digital allows FastTrac to expand, remove financial barriers
Access to entrepreneurship education should be a fundamental human right, said Michele Markey, Kauffman FastTrac spokesperson. A program of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, FastTrac has equipped more than 350,000 aspiring entrepreneurs with business skills they need during its nearly 25 years of service, Markey said. To further expand its reach, the program launched a…
Beyond borders: Federal grant equips KC to build regional $5M seed fund
Pushing aside the Kansas-Missouri “border war,” a bi-state effort has earned a federal grant that will help create a $5 million fund for startups, which could begin investing as early as 2018. The Enterprise Center in Johnson County announced Monday it secured a $150,000 Economic Development Administration Seed Fund Support grant. The grant — which…
Immigration debate could stall Moran’s revived Startup Act, again
Federal legislation geared toward boosting entrepreneurship would make it easier for foreign-born innovators to obtain permanent resident status in the United States. “The newly-introduced Startup Act promotes public policies that would change our KC startup community for the better,” said Melissa Roberts, vice president of communications and outreach for Enterprise Center of Johnson County, which…
