North Carolina Creates Rural Entrepreneurship Institute

Coupling manufacturing's sharp employment drop with the perennial struggles of a rural economy and the current economic downturn can cause massive struggles for many of the country's sparsely populated areas. The closure or significant downsizing of one manufacturing plant can be terminal for a small, rural town.

To revise that prognosis, North Carolina's Rural Economic Development Center launched the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship in late October, along with several other new initiatives.

The institute will work with the N.C. Department of Commerce, N.C. Community College System and more than 30 economic and community development organizations statewide to put into place a 10-step business development strategy, including a $1.1 million initiative to help displaced manufacturing workers start their own businesses. The institute also will offer a range of grant and loan programs, education and training opportunities, and research and advocacy initiatives.

The first initiative to take effect will be the New Opportunities for Workers (NOW) program to provide dislocated workers in counties heavily impacted by manufacturing losses with opportunities to develop their own small businesses. Candidates identified by local response teams and JobLink centers will receive specialized training by 13 community colleges and, if they qualify, a business loan from the Rural Center’s Microenterprise Loan Program. To participate, an individual must have been laid off within the last three years and must reside in one of 28 counties. The N.C. Department of Commerce is providing $100,000 to initiate the program and the Rural Center is providing $1 million in micro loans.

In addition, the Rural Economic Development Center and state announced three other initiatives:

• Establishment of the Rural Entrepreneurship Development Program, a $600,000 grant program to stimulate interest in entrepreneurship development among rural communities. To be launched in January 2004, the initiative will be led by the Rural Center and N.C. Department of Commerce.
• Expansion of the state’s Business and Technology Telecenters by the Rural Internet Access Authority and the Rural Center, to include four new telecenters in unserved areas within the next two years. Funds for planning grants will be announced in early 2004.
• Programs to boost agricultural entrepreneurship, including the New Generation Cooperatives Program and the Agricultural Development Grants Program, to maximize farm profitability through value-added products.

More information on the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship is available at: http://www.ncruralcenter.org/entrepreneurship/index.asp