New Fund and Area Groups Boost Economic Recovery
The economic recovery process from last year’s natural disasters, and the national economic downturn, makes one thing painfully obvious; economic development is a long view sport.
Without fanfare last fall, the federal Economic Development Administration granted Doug Elliott’s six-county East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) a $1.5 million revolving loan fund, with $85,000 in local matching funds from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation.
In June, ECICOG approved its first two loans for a total of $200,000 to dedicated and visionary entrepreneurs, Michael Richards of SoyaWax International, and to Larry Selensky of Ovation Networks.
These loans, with 4% interest rates, will help two entrepreneurs grow their businesses. Both businesses are using additional resources to pull the financing for their projects together, including owner equity, local bank financing, Jumpstart, and IDED incentives. ECICOG’s loan fund is a piece that completes their financing puzzle.
But it’s never all about the financing. Good business planning is really at the core of growing good businesses. Both SoyaWax and Ovation Networks are clients of the Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC). EDC staff have worked closely with these (and many other) entrepreneurs not on quick fixes, but on solid planning and counseling over many months, even years. I commend the EDC for having the know-how to dig in and develop real solutions for promising businesses.
Understanding how to help startup or expanding businesses is tricky. However, the work of organizations like the EDC and the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) is making a significant positive local impact.
As recovery efforts churn on into the future, I hope that area banks, communities, and businesses that have been impacted by the EDC or SBDCs efforts will return the favor. They can do this by making sure that these organizations have the funding to continue the long work of building a solid business foundation for the Corridor—well worth the patience and determination for us to win, in the end.
Ed Raber, Director
Washington Economic Development Group
