Kauffman Foundation sets up shop in TechTown

The Kauffman Foundation is consolidating its commitment to growing a new entrepreneurial ecosystem in Detroit.

The Kansas City, Mo-based foundation has opened up a satellite office in the TechTown business incubator in Detroit's New Center neighborhood. The new office will employ a staff of 3-5 people and focus on the foundation's Urban Entrepreneurial Partnership program.

"It's a vibrant area," says Lena Rodriguez, director of development for the Urban Entrepreneurial Partnership program. "There is a lot of activity there with a lot of innovation going on."

The program is being renamed to UEP Detroit 150, a reference to the program's mission of helping 150 of Detroit's displaced minority auto suppliers retool and diversify into other industries like biotech and military.

The Kauffman Foundation is partnering with the New Economy Initiative of Southeast Michigan and TechTown to create more than 1,200 new start-ups in Detroit within the next three years. TechTown is planning on a rapid expansion of its campus in the shadow of the Fisher Building to accommodate all of these new firms.

Source: Lena Rodriguez, director of development for the Urban Entrepreneurial Partnership and TechTown
Writer: Jon Zemke

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Kauffman Foundation sets up shop in TechTown

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