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NMM: What are the early results of
these investments?
Egner: In the first grants, we've seen
417 company starts, just under 7,000
new jobs and another 1,500 temporary
jobs. Our $36 million has resulted in
almost $400 million of match funds,
with $230 million directly to the
entrepreneurs and about $170 million
to the organizations working on entre-
preneurial support. We couldn't be
more pleased with those outcomes.
in communities and neighborhoods.
We were leaving behind large per-
centages of the marketplace.
NMM: Where is that match money
coming from?
Egner: Everywhere from the federal
government to venture capital firms.
Obviously, in the companies, it was
equity and capital. In the entrepreneur-
ial organizations, it was state and fed-
eral funding, and other private funding.
NMM: How does support for New
Michigan Media play in this long-
term, regional vision?
Egner: The reason we engaged with
New Michigan Media was to try to
help push a culture change message.
We thought, "Wouldn't it be great if
we could start pushing entrepreneur-
ial stories out and, more importantly,
ethnic entrepreneur stories that were
culturally relevant, so we could start
to address that issue as well?"
It's been incredibly important to us
in trying to change the perceptions
and culture of this region toward
innovation, investment and success,
especially from minority communities.
NMM: Why is NEI so interested in
the minority and ethnic communi-
ties?
Egner: If you really look at the driv-
ing forces around the entrepreneurial
activity of the last 30 to 40 years, it's
been in the ethnic communities. It's
not been recognized as that because
we often only talk about the higher-
tech industries and not about the
neighborhood and lifestyle-related
businesses.
NMM: One NEI goal is to bring about
social equity, but isn't there more to
why you are investing in the minority
and ethnic communities?
Egner: Let's talk about it from the
standpoint of marketplace. We have
ignored big chunks of the market
in Detroit because we have not
embraced the ethnic communities in
a cohesive and aggressive way.
There are whole markets we have
left behind particularly when you
look at the entrepreneurial ecosys-
tem, those organizations that serve
entrepreneurs. We were taking who-
ever walked in the front door and
doing nothing to be actively engaged
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NMM: What do you see as the lon-
ger- term benefit?
Egner: The investment that follows.
We continually talk about foreign
investment. The best way to get at
foreign investment is to embrace eth-
nic communities and yet, as a system,
we've not done that very well.
NMM: How do you summarize the
vision for all the NEI-funded work?
Egner: Ultimately, the goal is
to return Detroit and southeast
Michigan to a place that is innovative
and attracting others who are inven-
tive and innovative.
It's going to take time, but all the
infrastructure is here and, more
importantly, there is great talent here
in the ethnic communities and in the
high-growth spaces of the health care
systems and the universities. There
is no reason why we can't return to
the high economic outputs of the last
century.
❑
Sandi Svoboda is a Metro Detroit-based
freelance journalist.
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For a related editorial, see page 40.
NEI-Funded Entrepreneur Support Programs
ProsperUS Detroit, a project of
Southwest Solutions, ACCESS,
Global Detroit and other commu-
nity partners, that offers entrepre-
neurial support and training.
swsol.org/prosperus.
TechTown, a nonprofit incubator
and accelerator affiliated with
Wayne State University, that has
a variety of training and support
programs in Detroit locations.
techtowndetroit.org
Bizdom, a nonprofit founded by
Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans,
that supports start-up companies
in Detroit and provides access to
capital. bizdom.com
Lending and Equity Investment
First Step Fund provides qualified
emerging companies with access
to capital and mentoring.
investdetroit.com/managed-funds/
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35