MSCC Receives Grant to Enhance Entrepreneurship, Job Growth

Mid-South Community College has been awarded a $19,950 grant to train local entrepreneurs so they can start or expand their own businesses and create additional jobs in the region.

The Delta Regional Authority and the Douglas C. Greene Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) at Southeast Missouri State University announced nearly $185,000 in grants funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s PRIME program and the DRA.
 

The objective of the effort is to increase the capacity for communities to train, support, and mentor aspiring entrepreneurs and to accelerate the number of new ventures created each year throughout the region. The cornerstone of the project is the nationally recognized Operation JumpStart SM entrepreneurship development program offered by the CIE.

 

“Access to training and resources is crucial to developing successful small businesses and creating good-paying jobs for the people of the Delta region,” said Chris Masingill, the Federal Co-Chairman of the DRA. “This program is one in a series of initiatives we are supporting to accelerate entrepreneurship and continue building our economy of the future. We are excited to partner with Southeast Missouri State University on this phase of Accelerating Entrepreneurship in the Delta.”
 

Dr. Kyle Wagner, MSCC Vice President for Workforce Technology, said the grant aligns perfectly with what the college wants to accomplish. “Mid-South Community College recognizes that the Arkansas Delta is in dire need of the creation of small businesses as the lifeblood for economic development,” Wagner said. “The Operation Jump Start grant will give us the resources to collaborate with local governments, community service organizations, and existing businesses to
serve entrepreneurs in the Delta Region.”
 

“We are excited about this great opportunity to reach out to our community to assist with efforts to create small businesses and generate new employment opportunities.”

MSCC will offer entrepreneurial training for aspiring businessmen and businesswomen in eastern Arkansas and western Tennessee with a focus on Crittenden County, Ark., and Shelby County, Tenn.
 

The college will provide training for a minimum of 30 entrepreneurs with the expectation that 15 new small businesses will be created. The overall initiative is expected to provide training and support to more than 300 aspiring entrepreneurs who are projected to immediately start as many as 100 new businesses.
 

Mid-South’s on-campus facilitation team includes Wagner; Dr. Phillip Bos, Director of Workforce Education; Pete Selden, Workforce Technology Program Specialist; Anita Brackin, Director of Business and Industry Services; and John Easley, TRiO Student Support Services Counselor.

Ten colleges and business development organizations in Arkansas, Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, received average awards of $18,453 to pay for training materials, course facilitators, and other related expenses.
 

Other grantees include Grambling State University, the Microbusiness Enterprise Corporation of Ascension, and St. Mary Community Action Agency (Louisiana); Holmes Community College and the Mississippi Action for Community Education, Inc. (Mississippi); Murray State University Regional Business and Innovation Center (Kentucky); Ozarks Small Business Incubator (Missouri); Shield, Inc. (Tennessee); Southeastern Illinois College Workforce and Illinois Small Business Development Center (Illinois); the University of West Alabama Division of Outreach Services (Alabama), and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Economic Research and Development Center.
 

For information about training and learning opportunities on the MSCC campus, call (870) 733-6728, visit the campus at 2000 West Broadway in West Memphis, see the website at www.midsouthcc.edu, or send an email to admissions@midsouthcc.edu.