Success Stories

EDA investments catalyze strategic, regionally-focused plans to build strong economic ecosystems that will support entrepreneurship and business growth, enhance and grow their existing economic assets, and create well-paying jobs in growing sectors. By investing in bottom-up regional economic development EDA helped communities devise new, well-thought-out, sustainable strategies based on their unique assets.

EDA’s economic footprint is wide and its tool box is extensive—including technical assistance, post-disaster recovery assistance, trade adjustment support, strategic planning and research and evaluation capacity, thereby allowing the agency to offer the most effective investment to help communities succeed in the global economy.

We are proud of our grantees’ accomplishments and encourage you to submit your success stories:

Read some Success Stories from our Annual Reports.

Archives: Disaster | Economic Development Districts | Infrastructure | Innovation and Entrepreneurship | Manufacturing | Small Business Development/RLF | Workforce Development

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Success Story: EDA Invests in Recovery of University of Texas at Austin’s Marine Science Institute After Hurricane Harvey Damage “The Lone Star State is grateful to our federal partners for their assistance in rebuilding and repairing UT Austin’s Marine Science Institute Campus in Port Aransas,” said Governor Abbott. September 2019
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Delaware Technology Park Gleams With STAR Entrepreneurship Incubator A major announcement made in the last month of 2015 shook the economic state of Delaware and sent it into heighten uncertainty. September 2019
Workforce Development Success Story: Making the Impossible, Possible: How EDA is Helping to Create New Innovations and Train the Food Industry Cluster to Maximize Business Growth This past 4th of July, Americans had more meatless options for their barbecues – enter the “Impossible Burger.” July 2019
Manufacturing Grayling Mill, ARAUCO’s First Greenfield Plant Constructed in the United States, Transforms Manufacturing in Michigan A $3.2 million EDA public works project to help fund water and wastewater facility upgrades in Grayling, Michigan, resulted in the attraction of foreign-based particle board manufacturer ARAUCO. June 2019
Disaster EDA University Center at the University of Puerto Rico helps promote resilient jobs in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria September 20, 2017 is a day that forever changed the lives of people in Puerto Rico. As Hurricane Maria made landfall and wreaked havoc upon the Island, countless number of people lost their homes and jobs. May 2019
Infrastructure Transformation of Former Texas Air Force Base Now Has Local Economy Soaring Brooks City-Base, located on San Antonio’s Southside just 10 minutes from downtown, has rapidly transformed from a former Air Force Base to a principal economic development entity. May 2019
Infrastructure Lubbock Rail Port Infrastructure Expansion Tracks in New Growth for the Region EDA invested $1.5 million in Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, Inc., (LEDA) of Lubbock, Texas, in 2009 to develop physical infrastructure needed to help the region attract additional private investment. April 2019
Small Business/RLF Former St. Louis Fire Department Engine House Now Quenches Burning Hard Cider Thirst with Help of EDA RLF Loan EDA’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program provides small businesses and entrepreneurs with the gap financing they need to start or expand their businesses. April 2019
Disaster Collaborative Efforts in California Turn Wildfire Devastation Into Economic Growth Like the Phoenix rising from the burning flames to restore and make anew, so have local efforts in California help turn destruction into prosperity. March 2019
Disaster Success Story: EDA’s Investment in Choctaw Nation Supports Development of Drone Testing Program, Attracting New Business and Private Investment to the Area The Choctaw Nation is a Native American territory and Indian Tribe represented in 11 counties in Oklahoma. Between 2014 and 2016, the Choctaw Nation and surrounding region was affected by three federally-declared natural disasters. February 2019
Workforce Development Highlight: How Non-Profit ICAST is Teaching Green Construction Skills to At-Risk Youth, Training for Jobs of the Future In December 2017, EDA provided funding for the International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology (ICAST), a nonprofit that focuses on providing a higher quality of living for low-to-moderate income communities, to launch a green construction training and job creation program for disadvantaged youth. February 2019