Texas
| Program | # of Grants | EDA Funds |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Adjustment Assistance | 3 | $1,700,000 |
| Public Works | 5 | $5,600,000 |
| Regional Innovation Program | 5 | $2,095,892 |
| Technical Assistance | 5 | $590,360 |
| Trade Adjustment Assistance | 1 | $1,197,821 |
| Planning | 24 | $460,000 |
| Grand Total | 43 | $11,644,073 |
Dallas, TX - The City of Dallas has seen economic growth fueled, in part, by a growing entrepreneurial eco-system that fosters the creation of new businesses and jobs in the city. However, Southern Dallas has not yet been able to reap the benefits of this growth. The southern area of Dallas has a per capita income of less than half of North Dallas. Over the past few decades, economic development in the southern sector has been so anemic that the Mayor of Dallas has launched his Grow South initiative to try to create business opportunities in this area. However, there were no existing support centers in Southern Dallas to help local entrepreneurs build businesses in the region.
In September 2017, EDA invested $600,000 in Economic Adjustment Assistance to the Dallas Entrepreneur Center (DEC) to create an entrepreneurial support program in the impacted communities. During a series of community meetings, citizens asked the DEC and city staff for an incubator that could help educate, train, and equip entrepreneurs in Southern Dallas. The DEC is a co-working space and a non-profit created to help entrepreneurs start, build, and grow companies through education, mentorship, and community. The DEC had seen major successes in its previous locations and agreed to take up the challenge of helping local entrepreneurs in the Southern Dallas region build businesses in their community.
The EDA investment will provide technical assistance to businesses through the creation of three new entrepreneurial centers in economically distressed areas of the city. By providing access to mentors, training, and networking, as well as the development of an entrepreneurial curriculum, this project is expected to create 250 jobs and generate $1,250,000 in private investment. The great strength of this program lies in the notion that the benefits accrue directly to the individuals and families within the distressed communities. The businesses created will be owned and operated by members in the economically distressed area, who are also more likely to hire other members of the community.