Space In Englewood Neighborhood The 70th Incubator In Chicago
On Tuesday Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was on hand to open the city’s latest business incubator space. The new incubator, Blue 1647, is located in the Englewood neighborhood in the city’s Southwest side and received $40,000 in funds from Google to help get online and jumpstart operations. As part of the incubator’s opening there were special workshops and trainings held for more than 100 Chicago-area startups invited to attend the event. Blue 1647 founder and CEO Emile Cambry emphasized the importance of providing access to tools for the city’s small businesses, WFLD-TV noted. Cambry said, “We need to make sure we provide as many resources, access and opportunities, workforce development, training and all the things that take place everywhere else in the city.”
As he touted the incubator’s opening, Mayor Emmanuel also spoke about the importance of growing the city’s tech industry. The Chicago Tribune noted Emmanuel said, “When it comes to technology, when it comes to what’s happening in that space, to the digital economy, it’s not about government or the private sector, but it’s about creating a public-private partnership, and each of us know our respective roles.” Emmanuel highlighted the importance of “creating a context where the talent wants to come, the (venture capitalists) want to be here, and also the type of investments that we are doing as a city that create the opportunity for entrepreneurs to take an idea to the next level.”
What This Means For Small Businesses
Public-private collaborations like the Blue1647 incubator space can help foster a more business-friendly environment for the area’s small businesses. However, Chicago still has a ways to go in other areas before small businesses feel entirely welcome in the Second City.
Additional Reading
WFLD-TV reports on the incubator’s opening.
