Highlight: Ground is Broken on the Entrepreneur’s Sandbox Facility in Honolulu, Hawaii

To young children, a sandbox is a shallow box in the ground partly filled with sand to play in. In the world of high-tech business, a sandbox is a virtual space in which new or untested software can be run securely. In Hawaii, the Entrepreneur’s Sandbox is an EDA/Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) partnership that attracted private investment to provide the tools, programs and environment new entrepreneurs need to start and grow their businesses. The Sandbox is expected to help diversify the State of Hawaii’s economy and, when completed, the facility will be an innovation center where citizens can bring their ideas to life and learn to build products and develop creative media.

Being built with the help of a $3 million EDA Public Works program investment (PDF) made in 2014, the groundbreaking ceremony for the two-story, 13,500-square-foot facility located in Kakaako (Honolulu) Hawaii, took place last month. When complete, this new innovation center will be a place where business people can bring their ideas to life and learn to build products and develop creative media.

“This groundbreaking marks an important day — the next step in providing a collaborative environment where anyone can come, learn and grow their ideas into applications and tangible products,” Governor David Ige said. “The Entrepreneur’s Sandbox is only the first piece of the Kakaako Innovation Block, which will move Hawaii forward as a hub for technology, creativity and entrepreneurial activity.”

The Sandbox will open in July 2019 and will be equipped with ultra-high-speed internet connectivity. The innovation center will also target the startup community’s fundamental needs: attracting and recruiting new business, encouraging growth and diversification, helping entrepreneurs in their business development efforts, promoting a business-friendly economic climate and increasing the availability of high-wage jobs for Oahu.