States across the U.S. spend billions of dollars every year on economic development, providing tax breaks, infrastructure, and programming to support small businesses. Azlo understands the importance of economic development in the small businesses ecosystem, and and we view partnerships with local entities as an additional opportunity to support entrepreneurs.
“As a fintech company, we understand that technology has lowered the barriers to entry to start a business — but not everyone knows which resources are available and how to use the technology. By supporting progressive economic development ecosystems, we are delivering on our mission to increase opportunity and financial inclusion.”
—Ramona Ortega, Entrepreneur-In-Residence, Azlo.
We are honored to have recently supported Accelerating Small Business Startup Growth, a training hosted by the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Economic Development and their Office of Community Business. The goal of this event was to build the capacity and knowledge of small business resource centers. Specifically, this training focused on the ways small business resource centers could help their clients use technology to scale their businesses.
The one-day summit provided training on the lean startup model, digital marketing, prototyping tools, and strategies for accessing capital to over 100 business coaches in the Los Angeles Area. To find out more, visit one of the nine Los Angeles BusinessSource Centers.
Economic development resources for small businesses
Economic development agencies within state and local government pour vast amounts of resources into developing and implementing programs to build strong economies.
These resources are varied; you’ll find programs focused on training and education, advocacy, planning, diversifying local economies, generating and retaining jobs, and many other topics.
With such a wealth of programs out there, we’re prepared to bet there’s one (or several) that could benefit your business. Here’s a short list of useful resources to consider:
The U.S. Economic Development Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration
- Learning center
- Directory of funding programs
- Business guide
- Guide to getting government contracts
- List of local offices and partner agencies
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