RISE29 continues to make rural inroads

The RISE29 program continued its work in rural small business development during the Fall 2021 semester. Focused on the four core service counties of Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, and Pitt, 16 student interns were matched with seven small business clients to assist with various strategic and operational issues. An additional project during the fall semester focused on a partnership with NC Civil, a non-profit community development organization located in West Greenville focused on microenterprise development. This project was designed to identify, support, and grow small businesses, specifically in the West Greenville community. In total, RISE29 interns contributed approximately 4,800 hours toward assisting rural clients this semester.

An additional area of growth for RISE29 has been the expansion of the Entrepreneurial Passport program (E-Passport). E-Passport provides an avenue for students to expand their entrepreneurial network, identify potential mentors, and grow content knowledge of entrepreneurship. E-passport programs and events provide insight into the entrepreneurial mindset and process throughout the year. There are currently 218 students enrolled in this program.

Another exciting RISE29 fall event was the inaugural Overton Pitch Competition made possible through a generous donation from the Overton family. Participants were selected based on involvement in RISE29 and the E-Passport program, or reaching the finals of the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge. The competition was focused on businesses that will launch in eastern North Carolina. Student teams had the opportunity to pitch for $10,000 in seed funding.

With the fall semester complete, the RISE29 program has now placed more than 115 interns throughout Beaufort, Hyde, Martin, and Pitt Counties. In total, these students have worked more than 33,000 hours and helped 37 existing small businesses and 20 start-ups.

RISE29 is funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation and is supported by a strategic partnership between the Miller School, Division of Research, Economic Development and Engagement and the counties of Beaufort, Hyde, Martin & Pitt.

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• Miller School of Entrepreneurship