Feb. 8, 2021–Agencies from northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas that support the development of entrepreneurship in the region will gather at Missouri Western State University this week to discuss ways of working together.

“Each community is unique, but we all of us who facilitate entrepreneurship have some common challenges and opportunities as well,” said Annette Weeks, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship in Missouri Western’s Craig School of Business. “This will be a good opportunity to come together and discuss those common challenges while expanding the resources available to entrepreneurs in our community.”

In addition to the Center for Entrepreneurship, participants in the meeting will come from Northeast Kansas Enterprise Facilitation, Northcentral Missouri Business Facilitation, Northwest Missouri Enterprise Facilitation, and LINK Business Facilitation of the Liberty Economic Development Corporation. 

The day will start Wednesday, Feb. 10, with the weekly Cup of Joe gathering at 9 a.m. at the Restoration Natatorium, 117 Francis Street in Downtown St. Joseph. At 10:15, participants will meet at Missouri Western’s Kit Bond Science and Technology Incubator to discuss ways they can share ideas, clients and resources. The meeting will last the rest of the day and will also include several resource partners, including the US Department of Agriculture, Digital Sandbox, the Department of Economic Development, Missouri Enterprise, the Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments and the Inventors Club of Kansas City.

The gathering is part of the Heartland Challenge grant Missouri Western received last year from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to support the launch of the Regional Economic Vitality consortium.

Missouri Western State University is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. Missouri Western is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit www.missouriwestern.edu.