Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests to Expand Missouri State University Business Incubator

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.25 million grant to Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, to expand its business incubator located in the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center. The project, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act designated Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $1.25 million in local investment and is expected to create 360 jobs and spur $27 million in private investment.

“President Trump is working every day to help empower our nation’s entrepreneurs so that they can grow, thrive, and create new jobs” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This project will expand Missouri State University’s business incubator program and attract innovative businesses to a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone.”

“Missouri State University’s e-factory at the Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship in Southwest Missouri,” said Governor Parson. “The EDA grant is great news for the region and will allow the center to serve even more local entrepreneurs as they start and grow businesses, create jobs, and invest in the community.”

This project will add additional incubator spaces and a conference room. This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments. EDA funds the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment, and create jobs.

The funding announced today goes to a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act designated Opportunity Zone, which provides special incentives for further private sector participation and development. Created by President Donald J. Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Opportunity Zone designations spur economic development by giving tax incentives to investors in economically-distressed communities nationwide. To learn more about the Opportunity Zone program, see the Treasury Department resources page here. To learn more about the Department’s work in Opportunity Zones, read our blog post.

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.