Tool Kit - Ecosystem
Entrepreneur Support Organizations

Neighborhood Business Ecosystem

The St. Louis Mosaic Project has created a map of the neighborhood business ecosystem for immigrant entrepreneurs.

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The Small Business Empowerment Center

The Small Business Empowerment Center is a Missouri 501c3 Nonprofit Organization sponsored by the Greater St. Louis Empowerment Zone to serve as is a one stop shop to help urban entrepreneurs start and grow their own business enterprise.
The SBEC’s mission is to provide economic development initiatives focus on assisting entrepreneurs to sustain and grow their businesses and thus create wealth within their communities. SBEC helps entrepreneurs overcome the challenges of starting businesses in distressed and underserved neighborhoods and urban “Main Street” business districts through four major resources:
    1. Educational Workshops
    2. Community Programing
    3. Consulting Services
    4. Collaborative Partnerships.
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Ferguson 1000

Minority Entrepreneurship and Workforce Resources

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BALSA Foundation Idea Support

Get feedback from experts.

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BALSA Grant

The BALSA Grant helps first time entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground. BALSA Grant finalists receive:

  • Free (non-dilutive) cash grant of up to $5,000
  • In-kind professional services
  • Business workshops
  • One-on-one mentoring

 

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East St. Louis Initiative

The East St. Louis Initiative engages local entrepreneurial leaders from East St. Louis with Washington University student teams and provides connections to make micro-enterprises sustainable.

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Tech Ecosystem Map

From ITEN

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EQ Ecosystem Map

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GlobalHack

GlobalHack is building a better tech ecosystem through software competitions. Our events bring together developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and technologists to build innovative software solutions that solve real-world problems.

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Digital Sandbox – KC

Digital Sandbox KC broadly seeks new innovation in information technology.  The Sandbox provides innovators with proof-of-concept resources to support early-stage commercialization processes. The Sandbox may cover expenses for project consultants, market research, legal support, equipment and other market validation, prototyping and beta testing needs.

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