An Imagined Possibility: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Eastern Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky is an area in transition having lost more than 5,700 coal jobs in the last two years. County boundaries established in the 19th century are based on horseback travel so people could get to county seats and back in one day. Kentucky\u27s development districts are based on the model created in the 1960s, which has made it more difficult to achieve a comprehensive plan for the coalfields. State policies have not provided adequate incentives or direction to encourage necessary regional approaches to improving the economy. Coal/mineral severance funding levels and policies have demonstrated limited regional economic development success for industrial development, physical infrastructure improvements and individual county projects instead of preparing communities for an information-age economy. The region should not give up optimism of landing industrial plants or large employers; however, planning should focus on advanced technology realities and on encouraging entrepreneurship. Thousands of Eastern Kentuckians can be hired by employers based either in or out of the region, working at home or in business incubators and using technology. Eastern Kentucky needs a comprehensive strategic economic plan for regional development to diversify its job base and a consistent stream of money to make the plan a reality as its coal industry wanes. This session will address the following: How can Eastern Kentucky communities create an entrepreneurial ecosystem that helps local businesses secure capital, grow and succeed? What are the strategies to support small-business start-up and enterprise expansion? Could a economic model and plan be developed that is more likely to attract investments from the private sector and philanthropies