Tucson organizations win $100,000 in prize money for inclusive entrepreneurship
Two Tucson organizations won $100,000 in awards for their work making entrepreneurship more inclusive.
The U.S. Small Business Administration awarded the University of Arizona Center for Innovation a prize for its effort to increase the number of women leading STEM startups.
The second award went to Startup Tucson for its work targeting rural and Spanish-speaking business owners in Southern Arizona.
Startup Tucson Executive Vice President Dre Thompson said the organization is supporting food-related businesses and is running a 10-week program to help get new businesses off the ground.
"For economic reasons, for climate reasons, and also for creating equitable access to our entrepreneurial ecosystem, we see this program is really important," Thompson said.
She also said Startup Tucson will use the prize money to grow that program, and its Spanish language outreach.
The University of Arizona Center for Innovation said it’ll use the money to hire female student interns and place them in women-led startups.
