The Russell Technology Business Incubator (RTBI) is the first business incubator for black entrepreneurs in West Louisville.   The incubator is under the umbrella of AMPED, the Academy of Music Production Education and Development, which is a free music program for kids in Louisville. The founder, Dave Christopher, said the idea for the business incubator came about in 2020 as black-owned businesses were struggling in the COVID-19 pandemic significantly more than their counterparts.

Mr. Christopher, an entrepreneur himself, has experienced challenges with having access to resources and programs that are equipped to assist and understand black entrepreneurs’ unique struggles.

Through RTBI, black business owners now have access to services and resources to help them get started, research their goals, create generational wealth, create jobs, give back to the community, and to continue to grow for years to come.

The incubator is a year-long program that challenges entrepreneurs to go on a learning journey that will expand their knowledge, increase confidence, and grow their businesses.  The program is specifically designed to reduce failure for black entrepreneurs by keeping their unique challenges in mind.  The program offers courses in business planning, business accounting, marketing, capital strategies, technology, business communication, and life balance.  In addition, each entrepreneur participating in the program is assigned a professional business coach for support and guidance on handling their business’ specific challenges.  RTBI gives so many resources that are designed to reduce the barriers that black-owned business experience and increases the success rate in the black communities of Louisville.

The incubator received a grant $500,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to get started and since has received more than $3 million in funding from other donations. Mr. Christopher and his staff, donors, and supporters are committed to reducing the racial wealth gap across the nation.  It is projected that RTBI to become a national model within three to five years.

The Metals Innovation Initiative was born out of an idea, an idea that doesn’t have a ready-made playbook: How can we create an industry-led organization that collaborates with governmental, educational, and other stakeholders to solve the most pressing challenges and capture opportunities that our organizations cannot easily address on their own? There are numerous examples of collaboration between industry and education, government and industry, and government and education. MI2’s concept is to bring those collaborations under one roof to form an ecosystem, guide it, and empower it to drive innovation and shape the future of the metal industry.
 

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