Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.25 million grant to Missouri State University to expand its business incubator located in the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center.
The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act designated Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $1.25 million in local investment and is expected to create 360 jobs and spur $27 million in private investment.
“President Trump is working every day to help empower our nation’s entrepreneurs so that they can grow, thrive, and create new jobs,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This project will expand Missouri State University’s business incubator program and attract innovative businesses to a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone.”
“Missouri State University’s efactory at the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship in Southwest Missouri,” said Governor Mike Parson. “The EDA grant is great news for the region and will allow the center to serve even more local entrepreneurs as they start and grow businesses, create jobs, and invest in the community.”
This project will add additional incubator spaces and client conference and training rooms.
“This investment will help the efactory continue driving growth and innovation in Southwest Missouri,” said U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt. “The center is an invaluable resource for local entrepreneurs, providing them new tools to grow their businesses and create good-paying jobs. I’m proud to see this expansion moving forward and promoting economic development in one of our state’s Opportunity Zones.”
The funding announced today goes to a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act designated Opportunity Zone, which provides special incentives for further private sector participation and development.
Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zone designations spur economic development by giving tax incentives to investors in economically-distressed communities nationwide. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Treasury Department resources page.
To learn more about the department’s work in Opportunity Zones, read their blog post.
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