Governor Announces Grant to Establish Shoals-Based Program to Diversify Economy, Create Jobs in North Alabama

MONTGOMERY (Governor’s Office) — Governor Robert Bentley on Wednesday announced that nearly $1 million in grant funds will be used to jump start a joint effort to develop new businesses, expand existing businesses and create jobs in northwest Alabama.

The Florence-based Shoals Entrepreneurship Center will receive the $997,150 grant for Shoals Shift, a comprehensive entrepreneurship program to support businesses and grow a digital economy in nine north Alabama counties as well as small portions of east Mississippi and south Tennessee. The center will partner with the University of North Alabama and the Shoals Chamber of Commerce for the project, which is expected to create or retain 110 jobs, start 20 businesses and leverage $10 million in private investment. Local matching funds of $1 million have also been committed to the program.

The Appalachian Regional Commission announced the funding Wednesday in West Virginia as part of a federal initiative to diversify and strengthen the economies of areas that rely heavily on coal and related industries. In total, the ARC and the U.S. Economic Development Administration announced more than $37 million in funding through the initiative, called Partnership for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization or POWER.

“I have long been vocal about how important coal is to Alabama families and our state’s economy. With the federal government’s current war on coal, the impact has been experienced in many parts of Alabama,” Governor Bentley said. “However, with the POWER initiative, there is federal funding to help our state with the economic impact to our economy.  I support the Shoals Shift project because it will create needed jobs, launch new businesses and expand existing businesses.”

Shoals Shift will offer a wide range of entrepreneurship assistance for new and existing businesses, including improving access to capital, assisting with strategies to increase profitability and generating ideas to help businesses grow by incorporating digital and broadband technology. The program also will lay the groundwork for future entrepreneurs by offering training and activities for students from middle school through college.

“Out of dozens of applications, we were one of the few groups selected,” Giles McDaniel, Executive Director of the Shoals Entrepreneurial Center said. “We believe that our project was selected because of its reach and scope.  Our work will affect nine counties in northern Alabama and two additional states.  It will also increase awareness of the importance of business start-ups and industrial diversification.”

The ARC is a state-federal partnership program that includes 37 northernmost Alabama counties. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs manages the ARC program in Alabama and played a key role in developing partnerships to ensure the state’s communities were in a position to secure a portion of these competitive funds.

“ADECA’s mission is to make Alabama communities stronger,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “Through local leadership and federal-state partnerships, we are able to address some of our state’s most critical issues. The POWER initiative was created to help communities diversify and grow, and I appreciate the nearly $1 million investment in the Shoals Shift project.”

For more information about the POWER initiative, go to www.arc.gov/power.

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