Having opportunities to work, earn and live comfortably in a community one loves is a slice of the American dream.
Aloing those lines, Steve Halter, president of the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce, recently signed a partnership agreement with the Southern Missouri Innovation Network (Innovate SOMO), the organizations announced in a press release.
The agreement could open up major educational and job opportunities to the Ozark region.
Innovate SOMO was founded by Codefi, an organization headquartered in Cape Girardeau with regional offices in Springfield, and by efactory at Missouri State University, two of Missouri’s most successful innovation hubs.
“When provided access to opportunities, support resources and skilled talent, entrepreneurs and small business owners produce a chain reaction of job creation, revenue growth and community improvement,” said Dr. James Stapleton, co-founder of Codefi.
The mission of Innovate SOMO is to unlock the full potential of entrepreneurship and innovation to transform communities in the southernmost 47 counties in Missouri.
“We strongly believe in the power of a network and that by working together we all thrive,” said Rachel Anderson, executive director of efactory. “Community Connectors and collaboration will continue to make southern Missouri the best place to start and grow a business.”
The initiative includes over two dozen partner communities.
“We are thrilled for this partnership and what it will mean to our citizens in the region,” Halter said.
The network’s creators have successfully raised nearly $10 million in state and federal competitive grants and private contributions. These funds support the expansion of programs and resources delivered through the network, connecting digital workers to training, entrepreneurs to resources, and employers to talent.
It’s all with one goal in mind: to drive regional economic growth and prosperity.
The Innovate SOMO network is expected to:
• Provide programs and services to nearly 1,200 entrepreneurs and workers.
• Assist in the building of more than 60 new businesses.
• Create over 500 new high-quality jobs.
The annual economic impact from these efforts is expected to be more than $37 million.
Since 2013, the founders of Innovate SOMO have produced outstanding economic impact in their original service areas, as evidenced by the support they continue to receive from federal and state partners, while competing with the best development organizations across the country.
“We are really excited to be able to expand the reach of our work to include more of our neighboring communities and to be able to partner with outstanding local organizations like the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce to continue their work to make the communities they serve better places to work and live,” Stapleton said.
For more information about local availability of these programs or services, contact Halter at shalter@pbchamber.org or 573-785-7761.
To learn more about the Innovate SOMO network, visit InnovateSOMO.org.