National Dialogue on
Entrepreneurship

Week of January 5 - 9, 2004

Welcome to the National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship and E-News, an electronic newsletter sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City for followers of the entrepreneurial economy. Through E-News, we bring you short summaries and analyses of various trends driving the innovation economy. Please feel free to share this with friends and colleagues. To subscribe, visit www.publicforuminstitute.org/nde/join/

College Entrepreneurship Awards

Last month, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (NDE’s sponsor) announced the winners of a major new grant program designed to expand entrepreneurship training in America’s higher educational institutions. Eight universities received $25 million in funds to help expand and enhance innovative entrepreneurship training opportunities. Since each grant also requires local matching funds, more than $75 million will be invested at these eight campuses to support this important work. The winners are:

  • Florida International University

  • Howard University

  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  • University of Rochester

  • University of Texas-El Paso

  • Wake Forest University 

  • Washington University in St. Louis

Competition for these grants was fierce, so all of the winners developed truly unique and innovative program concepts. Program ideas include efforts to expand entrepreneurship among African-American students (Howard) and Mexican-American students (University of Texas-El Paso) as well as programs to include entrepreneurship training for liberal arts majors (Wake Forest and Washington). 

To learn more about the program, visit http://www.kauffman.org/pages/396.cfm

The Year Ahead: Venture Capital

The New Year is always a time for predicting coming trends, and leaders of the venture capital industry have been “venturing” their own ideas on where the industry is going. Like many economic observers, venture investors are fairly bullish on their prospects for 2004. In interviews compiled by the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), industry leaders predict that investing levels in 2004 should slightly outpace 2003, and fundraising should see significant improvements. Several factors appear to be at play. First, the “hangover” from the dot-com era appears to be finally fading away. Second, the initial public offering (IPO) market seems to be heating up, offering exit opportunities for many investors. All in all, interviewed investors feel cautiously optimistic about the coming year. 

To learn more, visit the National Venture Capital Association at www.nvca.org

The Year Ahead: Small Business

Small business owners are also feeling somewhat bullish about the coming year---at least according to the latest version of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Monthly Index of Small Business Indicators. The NFIB index rose by a slight 1.3 points (up to 105.3) in November 2003 as small business owners expressed more optimism about the economy’s future. Fifty-one percent of respondents expect the economy to improve in the next six months—the index’s highest level since 1983. While they are optimistic, small business owners are not yet acting on this sentiment. Even though sales are improving, new hires and capital investment levels remain fairly low. Interviewed firms added an average of only 0.10 employees per company---a rate far below hiring rates of the early 1990s but near hiring rates of the 1980s. 

To view the latest report, visit http://www.nfib.com/PDFs/sbet/sbet12_2003.pdf

Appalachian Entrepreneurship Projects
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) was one of the first federal agencies to set aside funds specifically devoted to funding entrepreneurial development. This program was first begun in 1997, so it is now entering its seventh year. As part of an effort to track program success, ARC has compiled a list of all funded projects as well as some preliminary reviews of program impacts and effectiveness. Overall, ARC has invested $31 million in 368 different projects that have helped generate more than 1,200 new businesses, 5,000 jobs, and $45 million in new investment.

To learn more about these projects, visit www.arc.gov/entrepreneurship

Economic Development Information Coalition
U.S. Department of Commerce
Economic Development Administration
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230

Visit the EDIC website

If you want to learn about the latest in the world of economic development, you might want to check out a new web page and newsletter being produced by the Economic Development Information Coalition (EDIC). 

EDIC was formed with funding from the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) and consists of three leading economic development-related trade associations: the International Economic Development Council (IEDC); the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO); and, the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC). 

The EDIC’s role is to spread the word about innovative economic development practices and to publicize new government program initiatives and contract opportunities. In addition to the newsletter, EDIC will also be sponsoring a national series of seminars about economic development issues---the first two sessions will be held in Millinocket, Maine (January 13) and Hanover, New Hampshire (January 14).

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