Newsroom

U.S Department of Commerce Invests $1.6 Million to Support Small Business Development in Kansas City

Kansas City, MO, October 6, 2017– U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.6 million grant to the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Greater Kansas City (HEDC), to renovate an existing industrial building located in an economically distressed area of Kansas City; for use as a small business incubator.

‘The EDA’s investment into HEDC’s Center for Urban Enterprise represents the importance and impact that HEDC’s entrepreneurship programs mean for the region’s economic recovery”, said Pedro Zamora, Executive Director, HEDC.

HEDC proposes to create jobs and provide economic opportunity for the predominantly low-income, high-poverty residents of the Kansas City MO-KS MSA. The construction of CUE brings a business innovation center to Kansas City’s Westside neighborhood; that will house a fully-licensed, below-market Commercial Kitchen Incubator; and Commercial Office Space to offer local, new and emerging businesses a complete “one-stop” small business management experience.

“Helping communities empower their entrepreneurs so that they can grow, thrive, and create new jobs is a critical focus of the U.S. Economic Development Administration,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Affairs Dennis Alvord. “We commend the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation for pursuing a strategy that will bolster their capacity to provide the services that entrepreneurs in underserved areas of Kansas City need to build their businesses.”

The Hispanic Economic Development Corporation is dedicated to improving the lives of Latinos within the Greater Kansas City. HEDC achieves this through business development and economic and community wealth creation initiatives.

If you would like more information about this announcement, please contact Pedro Zamora at 816-221-3442  or email at pzamora@kchedc.org.