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U.S. Economic Development Administration Invests $932,000 to Help Build Business Incubator to Support New Job Opportunities in North Carolina

Contact: Public Affairs Department, (202) 482-4085
Friday, August 23, 2013


WASHINGTON — The U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) today announced a $932,000 grant to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke Foundation, Inc., and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, North Carolina, to help build a business incubator that will support economic diversification and job creation in a rural region of southeast North Carolina. The EDA investment is expected to create 115 new jobs and attract $1.15 million in private investment over three years, according to grantee estimates.

“The Economic Development Administration is committed to helping rural communities create high-skill, high-wage job opportunities,” said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Matt Erskine. “The EDA grant announced today will support the region’s efforts to spur job creation by fostering the growth of innovative, new businesses.”

This EDA grant will fund the renovation of existing buildings in downtown Pembroke to create the University of North Carolina at Pembroke Entrepreneurship Incubator. This facility will provide local entrepreneurs and high-growth businesses with quality space and business services. By supporting economic diversification, the incubator will also help spur the creation of new high-skill, living-wage jobs in a region that has experienced job losses in the textile and tobacco manufacturing sectors.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.