DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Rene Dominguez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-Wide
SUBJECT:
A Chapter 380 Economic Development Grant Agreement with Tech Bloc San Antonio in an amount up to $800,000 over four years for the Techstars Talent Retention Pilot Program.
SUMMARY:
Staff is requesting City Council consideration and action related to the following Ordinance approving a Chapter 380 Economic Development Grant Agreement in an amount up to $800,000 with Tech Bloc San Antonio (Tech Bloc) to establish the Techstars Talent Retention Pilot Program, and identifying Tech Bloc as the Program Manager to administer grants of up to $50,000 (dispersed over three years) in order to retain and help grow up to 16 companies graduating from the Techstars Cloud Program.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
As part of its long-term planning, the City's SA Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan (SA Tomorrow) lays out specific, long-term goals to address key economic challenges in the areas of economic geography and diversity, workforce development, and business attraction and retention. The plan also stresses the role of the City's Targeted Industries, cultural and creative industries, and the need to nurture and support entrepreneurial development and innovation. In addition, the community's economic development strategic plan, Forefront SA, (led by the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation) complements SA Tomorrow by outlining goals and support for greater growth through a number of shared strategies, such as entrepreneurial development.
Specifically, both SA Tomorrow and Forefront SA articulate related goals of increasing household income in San Antonio through growth in employment in the City's Targeted Industries, and stress the central role of innovation, entrepreneurship, and startups in the community's development.
Across the United States, the highest performing large metro economies - as ranked by the Milken Institute - have a common ...
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