Essentials of Rural Development—Entrepreneurship as a Key Component for Economic and Community Development

In developing its hypothesis that weaker economic performance in rural areas is due in large part to a lack of entrepreneurial activity, the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship in Lincoln, Nebraska stated that a key element to rural revitalization rests with energizing rural entrepreneurs and rural entrepreneurship. 

A key element of energizing rural entrepreneurs and rural entrepreneurship is to provide supportive environments that enable business concepts to be executed.  The foundation for a supportive environment is to ensure that local communities are competitive in order to make it viable in the long run. The Hometown Competitiveness Approach asserts that there are four interrelated strategies necessary:  1)  Leadership :  Building a skilled and increasingly inclusive leadership group with capacity to improve and sustain the community;  2)  Youth :  Retaining and attracting youth and young families that are involved in community leadership; 3)  Capture Wealth :  the capture of a portion of the wealth that will transfer between generations; 4)  Entrepreneurship :  Utilizing the wealth in an entrepreneurial way, not just for playgrounds and pools, but rather to energize and support entrepreneurs. 

In his Public Square approach to community building, Terry Woodbury of Kansas Communities LLC identifies four key strategies for community building:  1) Name and build on community assets; 2) Engage many more citizens than are currently involved; 3) Focus leaders in four sectors (business, education, health/human services, government) on doable, common goals; and 4) Deliver ongoing results via citizen/leader cooperation. 

In both models, it is clear that a vital element to rural development is the development of a process that engages and empowers the community to utilize community and economic development as divergent strategies working towards common goals.

The Mission of NetWork Kansas

The mission of NetWork Kansas is to promote an entrepreneurial environment throughout the State of Kansas by serving as a single point of access that connects entrepreneurs and small business owners with the right resources-Expertise, Education, and Economic-when they are needed most. 

NetWork Kansas is available statewide and has more than 480 partners that provide business building services to entrepreneurs and small business owners who have the vision and potential to succeed.  Entrepreneurs and existing businesses simply call 1.877.521.8600 to speak with a NetWork Kansas Referral Coordinator. The NetWork Kansas counselors conduct a “listen and learn” to assess the needs of the entrepreneur or existing business.  The counselor then identify and connect the business owner with the resources that are available to help with their specific need.

NetWork Kansas is Involved in Community-Oriented Programs to Build Entrepreneurial Capacity: 

Entrepreneurship (E-) Communities

A NetWork Kansas E-Community is a partnership that allows a town, a cluster of towns, or an entire county to raise seed money for local entrepreneurs through donations from individuals or businesses within the community. Selected communities partner with NetWork Kansas to establish their own local loan fund, increase connectivity to resources available to assist entrepreneurs and small businesses, initiate activities to generate entrepreneurial development, and participate in a statewide partnership with other E-Communities. The goal of the E-Community partnership is to increase entrepreneurial activity and develop a self-sustaining ecosystem favorable to long-term entrepreneurial growth.

The E-Community program, now in its fifth year, has grown from six communities in 2007 to thirty in 2011. The NetWork Kansas E-Community partnership allows a town, a cluster of towns, or an entire county to raise seed money for local entrepreneurs through donations from individuals or businesses within the community. During the first four years of the E-Community partnership, more than $4.7 million have been raised. These funds are estimated to generate more than $33 million of investment in rural businesses across Kansas.