Texas Border Business
By Cori Peña
President & CEO, BCIC
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The Monday after RGV Startup Week always gets me a little. You have nine days of full rooms and packed stages, and then the building is just quiet again. I spent a lot of this month thinking about what happens after all that noise dies down, and it turned out May had plenty to say about it.
By the time May began, RGV Startup Week was coming to a close. Friday, May 1, was dedicated to women entrepreneurs, including the mompreneurs balancing a business and a family, our third year doing it in partnership with HER Texas. I am glad we got to do it again! It has become one of those parts of Startup Week you would miss if it were not there. That evening, we wrapped with the BTX 24-Hour Film Race: Student Edition, hosted by the Brownsville Convention and Visitors Bureau, where students screened the short films they had raced to shoot and edit. The next day, May 2, we closed things out for good with the Brownsville Youth Civic Innovation Summit and its student pitch competition. After nine days across five cities, ending the week with young people imagining Brownsville’s future was the perfect way to wrap it up.
The rest of the month kept circling the same question: what comes next?
On May 5, BCIC and UTRGV celebrated the opening of Blueprint Lab, the Rio Grande Valley’s first advanced prototyping and maker space located on the second floor of the eBridge Center. Designed to support innovation, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and product commercialization, Blueprint Lab provides access to advanced tools, including a large-format industrial 3D printer, desktop 3D printers, CNC machining equipment, laser and vinyl systems, and other rapid prototyping technologies. The lab serves as a hands-on resource where entrepreneurs, students, inventors, manufacturers, and small businesses can learn new skills, test ideas, create prototypes, and accelerate the development of new products. After years of helping entrepreneurs build business concepts, Blueprint Lab now provides a place where ideas can be transformed into tangible prototypes, helping bridge the gap between concept and commercialization.
There was a lot of small business recognition packed into the month, too. We joined the RGV Partnership for its National Small Business Week recognition luncheon and later in the month attended the Governor’s Small Business Summit in Mission. Closer to home, we hosted another lunch-and-learn with the Association of Fundraising Professionals, this time featuring Jeff Grandy on building boards that deliver.
We also welcomed Consul Judith Arrieta of the Mexican Consulate in Brownsville to the inauguration of this year’s Mexicana Emprende cohort. Now in its third year locally, the program, formally the Programa Consular de Emprendimiento para Mexicanas en el Exterior, gives Mexican women living abroad the training, mentorship, and business-planning tools to start and grow their own companies here in Brownsville. And at the Dignity Trailer ribbon cutting and community celebration, our Board Vice Chair Dr. Rose Gowen spoke about the City of Brownsville’s new mobile space, which gives children and adults with special needs a safe and private place at community events.
Near the end of the month, we graduated another cohort of the eBridge Business Academy, our entrepreneurship program delivered in partnership with the UTRGV Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Center. We are grateful to the ECC team for their continued partnership and commitment to supporting local entrepreneurs. We are even more proud of the founders who completed the program and took another important step toward building and growing their businesses. Their ambition and determination are helping shape the future of entrepreneurship in Brownsville.
On May 26, our Board of Directors approved the BIG LIFT Program, a new grant initiative designed to help small businesses across Brownsville enhance their storefronts and strengthen their presence in the community. Eligible projects include façade improvements, signage, lighting, landscaping, and public art installations created by local artists.
Locally owned businesses operating within Brownsville city limits for at least two years and employing fewer than 20 people may qualify for the program. Through BIG LIFT, BCIC reimburses up to 80% of eligible project costs, helping business owners invest in improvements that attract customers, revitalize commercial corridors, and contribute to neighborhood pride.
The program will launch on a district-by-district schedule, with applications for District 1 opening June 1. Businesses located in districts that have not yet opened may join the waitlist through our interest form. To learn more, submit an application, or join the waitlist, visit [link]. For questions, please contact Eric Quintero, BCIC’s Director of Community Development.
In May, Brownsville welcomed 439,600 out-of-market visitors, a 6% increase year-over-year, generating 1.8 million non-resident visits, up 7.8% from the same period last year. That is now several months in a row of year-over-year growth across the board.
Summer is almost here, and for the first time, we are seeing the light shine on a few new things that did not exist a month ago, with Blueprint Lab chief among them. This is typically a quieter season for us. The major events are behind us, and what remains is the steady work that does not always come with a ribbon cutting or a stage, but ultimately shapes what next year will look like.
Mother’s Day and Memorial Day gave us time with family, moments of reflection, and an opportunity to honor those we have lost and those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Now, as parks fill up, the splash pad at Oliveira Park opens, and summer begins across Brownsville, we remain focused on creating opportunities, supporting local businesses, and investing in projects that strengthen our community and economy.
June brings many opportunities for our community to come together, including Pride Month celebrations that recognize the contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals, entrepreneurs, and leaders who help shape our city.
Thank you for everything you do to strengthen this community. On behalf of our Board and staff, we appreciate your continued partnership.
Cori Peña, BCIC President and CEO
Information source: BCIC
