Northern Kentucky University and the city of Covington are launching a new center designed to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
The Collaborative for Economic Engagement will utilize the university's resources in data analytics, health, logistics and entrepreneurial innovation, as well as regional agencies and programs, to help businesses grow, according to a news release. Officials are billing the center, located at 112 W. Pike St., as a "one-stop innovation hub" for engagement, outreach, counseling, mentorship and programming.
"A key element of NKU’s economic engagement strategy is to catalyze a prosperous, equitable and inclusive regional ecosystem through economic development and entrepreneurship," Ashish Vaidya, NKU's president, said in a statement. "NKU, Covington and other regional partners created the Collaborative for Economic Engagement to support local entrepreneurs and small businesses. This will serve as a gateway to NKU's resources and expertise while building on our legacy of being a steward of place."
The new center marks the first time NKU has expanded beyond its Highland Heights main campus since the university launched its Grant County campus, which will soon serve as a satellite location for the center's regional resources, the release states.
"We’re thrilled to welcome NKU and its expertise and talent back into Covington and look forward to the center on Pike Street becoming a regional hub for not only entrepreneurship and innovation but also the broader business sector," Covington Mayor Joe Meyer said in a statement. "Covington has long been a proud supporter of small businesses and believes the Collaborative will supercharge the exciting energy that’s long been a hallmark of Innovation Alley."
The new collaborative joins a growing list of initiatives NKU has launched in recent weeks to boost the region's businesses.
In August, NKU teamed up with St. Elizabeth Healthcare to start an accelerator program designed to help health care-related startups. Later that month, the university launched a Family Business Relief Program to offer technology-based tools to help businesses adjust their operations and digital strategies to better sustain the ongoing pandemic.
NKU ranks as Greater Cincinnati's third-largest university, with more than 12,000 enrolled students, according to Business Courier research.
