State renews contract with hubs that support new businesses and entrepreneurs

FRANKFORT, KY - On July 19, 2024, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that the state is continuing to support job growth and economic development by renewing its contract with six Innovation Hubs located throughout the state that help support new businesses and entrepreneurs.

Each hub serves as an entrepreneurial support system throughout its region, providing mentorship and startup coaching, connections to public and private funding, events and networking opportunities across the state and many other resources to accelerate growth.

“We are securing Kentucky’s place at the forefront of innovation by continuing to invest in new businesses and entrepreneurs,” said Gov. Beshear. “The Innovation Hubs provide incredible opportunities for startup companies to succeed and create quality jobs for Kentucky families.”

The Innovation Hubs are a partnership between the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Office of Entrepreneurship & Innovation (KY Innovation) and the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation (KSTC). The program is funded with a total of just over $3 million from KY Innovation and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

The state contracts were awarded through a competitive request for proposals process conducted earlier this year. The awards and funding are based on each hub’s plans to serve and grow entrepreneurship throughout an entire region. The coverage areas of the six hubs have been remapped to ensure comprehensive services throughout each region and to better allocate resources to all of Kentucky’s 120 counties. A map and a listing of each hub’s service area are available at KYInnovation.com.

In addition to services provided across the state, the following are some examples of the unique programs, initiatives and partners for each of the individual hubs:

Sprocket (headquartered in Paducah) offers a co-working space, the Next50K competition, which provides funding for startups to relocate to Paducah, numerous educational and networking events, and will unveil a virtual community platform to connect entrepreneurs across the region to its resources in 2024-25. The hub will serve 22 counties in West Kentucky.

Amplify (Louisville) offers a mentor/peer network for founders, a statewide startup job board and venture investment readiness assessment tools, several of which are available through Amplify’s Ecosystem OS online platform. The hub also operates the Venture Connectors, a networking organization that brings together entrepreneurs and investors. The hub will serve 12 counties in its region.

CREATE (Bowling Green) headquartered at Western Kentucky University’s Innovation Campus, offers a membership-based co-working space, the CO/CREATE Talent Database to identify professionals interested in moving to the area and numerous business recruitment and networking services. CREATE will serve 12 counties in Western Kentucky.

SOAR (Pikeville) offers services including its “Complete Guide for Entrepreneurship in Eastern Kentucky,” technical assistance services, including market research and pitch preparation, fundraising bootcamps and other support programs, and events like the IGNITE Innovation Workshop Series and the Startup Appalachia Pitch Competition. SOAR will serve 29 counties in Eastern Kentucky.

Blue North (Covington) initiatives include entrepreneurs in residence and university fellows, the NKY Entreneur Fund, the GrowthX Revenue Accelerator that provides marketing and sales coaching and the Student Venture Capital Summit. The hub will serve 17 counties in Northern Kentucky.

Awesome Inc. (Lexington) initiatives include the Awesome Fellowship (accelerator), coding education, the KY Entrepreneur Hall of Fame and community events like the “5 Across” business pitch competition. Awesome Inc. will partner with Small Business Development Centers, universities across its region, BaseHere co-working space and Middle Tech Podcast. The hub will serve 28 counties in Central and Southern Kentucky.

Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development Secretary Jeff Noel spoke on the opportunities this announcement brings: “This represents an important opportunity to strengthen and grow the hubs’ roles as the front door for all entrepreneurs and startups in their regions, while also capitalizing on Kentucky’s unprecedented economic development momentum. Kentucky is home to thousands of bold, world-class innovators. The hubs are a key part of making sure we continue to establish ourselves as a premier destination to ideate, make and launch game-changing products and companies. We congratulate all the awardees and thank each and every organization that responded to the RFP for their willingness to support Kentucky businesses.”

Kentucky’s focus on innovation and entrepreneurship builds on the best four-year period for economic growth in state history.

Since the beginning of his administration, Gov. Beshear has announced more than 1,000 private-sector new-location and expansion projects totaling nearly $32 billion in announced investments, creating more than 54,700 jobs. This is the highest investment figure secured during the tenure of any governor in the commonwealth’s history.

The robust job creation has been accompanied by rising wages across the commonwealth. The average incentivized hourly wage in 2022 and 2023 topped $26 in consecutive years for the first time.

Gov. Beshear has announced some of the largest economic development projects in state history, which have solidified Kentucky as the electric vehicle battery production capital of the United States: Ford Motor Co. and SK On’s transformative $5.8 billion, 5,000-job BlueOval SK Battery Park in Hardin County; AESC’s $2 billion, 2,000-job gigafactory project in Warren County; Toyota’s $1.3 billion investment in Scott County; and INFAC North America’s $53 million investment in Taylor County, among others.

The Governor’s administration also secured the largest General Fund budget surplus and Rainy Day Fund, as well as the most jobs filled in state history. Last year, Kentucky set the record for the longest period with the lowest unemployment rates in state history.

Kentucky also secured rating increases from major credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings, and Moody’s Investors Service upgraded Kentucky’s credit outlook from stable to positive.

In March, Site Selection magazine ranked Kentucky third nationally and first in the South Central economic development projects per capita in its 2023 Governor’s Cup rankings. In April, Site Selection placed Kentucky second in the South Central region and top 10 nationally in its 2024 Prosperity Cup ranking, which recognizes state-level economic development agencies for their success in landing capital investment projects.

Gov. Beshear announced a “Supply Kentucky” initiative with the goal of boosting job growth, reducing costs and providing more security in the supply chains of our Kentucky companies.

For more information on Kentucky Innovation Hubs and to view the updated hubs map, visit KYInnovation.com. 

Information on Kentucky’s economic development efforts and programs is available at CED.ky.gov. Fans of the Cabinet for Economic Development can also join the discussion at facebook.com/CEDkygov, on Twitter @CEDkygov, Instagram @CEDkygov and LinkedIn.