City of Topeka receives $30,000 in grants for inclusive entrepreneurship program

The City of Topeka announced today it's successful bid for funding as part of the city's participation in the City Inclusive Entrepreneurship (CIE) program, through the National League of Cities (NLC). The City of Topeka recently joined the CIE program, making commitments to anchor procurement as well as Hispanic and Latino businesses.

The city was awarded $30,000 from the NLC, with $15,000 to go towards each commitment. The first commitment is to encourage minority business owners to explore opportunities to contract with anchors, or large institutions like the city, state agencies, hospitals, and universities. The second is to encourage members of the Hispanic and Latin American community to explore entrepreneurship opportunities in Topeka.

The goal of the CIE program is to encourage cities to create the right policies, programs and practices that drive inclusive, entrepreneurship-led economic growth in their respective communities. By making these two public commitments, the City of Topeka is creating a shared vision for local stakeholders to rally around, positioning itself as an active leader in the innovation economy in Topeka, and highlighting the opportunity for partners to connect with us to help everyone reach a shared goal.

The CIE program is a network of over 250 municipalities across the country, which gives city staff access to hands-on assistance from NLC and program experts, peer learning opportunities, recognition of our work and financial support to implement new programs.

As part of the commitment to encourage anchor procurement amongst minority business owners, the city is planning to partner with community organizations which offer educational resources to small and diverse business owners and entrepreneurs about how to do business with the city. In order to encourage more Hispanic community members to explore entrepreneurship opportunities, the city will work towards reducing barriers and promoting opportunities to create a more vibrant and diverse business community in Topeka.

To learn more about the CIE program, visit www.nlc.org/initiative/city-inclusive-entrepreneurship/.