Improving the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem was the title of a recent International Visitor Leadership Program for a group from Colombia. City Council Executive Don Kraher welcomed the group to the region at an orientation at Pensacola City Hall, and Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council Board Member John Adams invited locals to an informal coffee session in his home to assist in the group’s orientation.
Marny Needle met with the Colombians to describe the work of Impact 100, an organization comprised of women who each contribute $1,000 to become a member for a designated year. Impact has no paid staff so the entire contribution of a member is pooled and awarded to nonprofit organizations in five fields: arts and culture, environment, recreation and preservation, education, and family health and wellness. The group then met with the Pensacola Women’s Alliance (PWA) where President Denise Ables and Christina (Nina) Acosta, a consultant at Association Resource Solutions, focused the conversation on the PWA membership model and the types of educational programs they have found to be most successful.
The group had a series of visits focusing on entrepreneurial support. During a site visit to Co:Lab, Director of Entrepreneurial Development Kelly Reeser shared the impact of that business incubator and discussed the support provided to entrepreneurs and small businesses. In a meeting with the Small Business Development Center, the visitors met with Marketing Coordinator Kevin Peterson and examined the tools, training, and resources available to help entrepreneurs in every stage of business grow and succeed; and at Community Enterprise Investments, Director of Lending Percy Goodman highlighted loan programs tailored to assisting small and micro business owners.
The visitors also met students and staff of the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!), a national program serving thousands of students in 168 communities. Instructor Celene Sessions and Santa Rosa County Director of Workforce Education Carlin Knight shared the program’s mission, to transform local middle and high school students into confident leaders and entrepreneurs, and then explained how through this yearlong program, students generate business ideas and launch their own enterprises.
Before leaving the area, the group participated in a service project with Feeding the Gulf Coast where they met with Program Specialist Anita Totten. Feeding the Gulf Coast works through partner organizations and special programs to provide food to people who are hungry because of a personal crisis or disaster.
The Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council thanks everyone who helped make this project a success.
