NIIC Launches Program to Help Minority Business Creators

The center is located at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center and serves nearly the entire state.

The Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne has launched the first cohort of a program intended to help people in underserved communities become entrepreneurs.

The business incubator says the Connected Communities Breakthrough Program will provide strategic preparation, implementation, and assessment to Allen County business creators.

The program offers no-cost, community-based entrepreneurship opportunities that identify and enrich talent in an otherwise underserved market.

NIIC says the program is being funded by the Foellinger Foundation.

“It provides opportunities for equity, prosperity, and social well-being,” said Cheryl Taylor, President, Foellinger Foundation.

It is expected each participant will complete the program in three to six months. The program includes eight paths, from awareness of entrepreneurial mindset to how to thrive as a small business owner.

“I would like to gain information to help me start my business and learn more about obtaining resources that would help me get my business off the ground. I need to get it out of my head and into reality,” said program participant Vanessa Hayden.

Hayden said her business concept is to create unique spaces that are conducive for individualized learning. She will do this by intersecting her interior design knowledge and more than 20 years of experience working with children in the Autism spectrum.

Click here to learn more about the new program.