Texas Border Business
EL PASO, Texas— The City of El Paso has partnered with National League of Cities (NLC) to support local small businesses through the City Innovation Ecosystems (CIE) program, which provides resources and help for minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned, and other underserviced businesses to achieve greater economic equity.
The City has committed to implementing equitable policies, programs, and practices to support entrepreneurship-led economic growth in our community.
“Through its participation in the CIE program, the City of El Paso will work on giving underrepresented entrepreneurs more opportunities for economic advancement, “said Economic and International Development Director Elizabeth Triggs. “We look forward to leveraging the information and resources made available by the National League of Cities to support our local business owners who are helping to grow our regional economy and culture.”
The CIE program, an initiative of NLC, helps cities adopt policies, program, and practices to give underrepresented entrepreneurs more opportunities for economic advancement.
As part of the participation in the program, El Paso will be able receive and share best practices with other cities and partner organizations and receive NLC support to help implement the program.
As participants of the program, El Paso commits to the following:
· Identify 10 or more businesses that would benefit by the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) financing and connect them to CDFIs for possible financing
· Aid at least 3 small business owners secure CDFI financing as a direct result of the program’s participation
· Engage in quarterly calls with other cities participating in this cohort to share progress updates and lessons learned
· Complete quarterly surveys and keep NLC staff informed of progress
For more information, visit the City Innovation Ecosystems Program.
