Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project

DNEP’s Community Tech Worker Project Expands to Live6 with National Science Foundation Grant
October 29, 2024November 30, 2024

The University of Michigan School of Information was awarded a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to expand the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project’s Community Tech Worker (CTW) program from the eastside to Detroit’s northwest side by partnering with Live6 Alliance.
Started in 2022 as a partnership between the University of Michigan and Jefferson East Inc. (JEI), the CTW program began with the dual mission of bridging the digital divide and providing access to good jobs for local community members. Detroit residents are trained on different business technologies (website platforms, social media, and point of sale systems) to become community tech …

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U-M students put skills to work through summer internship program, helping Detroit communities
August 23, 2022August 20, 2024

Each summer many students scramble for the chance to gain work experience through an internship, happy to get even one company or business to bite. But for Samantha Lang, a junior in the Ford School of Public Policy, the summer was rich with opportunities. Through her involvement with The Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project she worked with Detroit small businesses like Fit4Life, Sister Pie, Pink Poodle Dress Lounge and Bags to Butterflies, all the while supporting and strengthening the local community.
The Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project connects small businesses with University of Michigan students and staff to help solve the issues they …

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U-M awarded grant to support Detroit entrepreneurs in bridging digital divide
September 7, 2021August 20, 2024

An interdisciplinary team from the University of Michigan was awarded $300,000 from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to train local residents and U-M students to provide one-on-one technology support to Detroit entrepreneurs. The project aims to better understand the types and complexity of technology support that small businesses need, along with preferences around timing and delivery.
The researchers will work with U-M alum Lutalo Sanifu (MURP ‘18) and his colleagues at Jefferson East, Inc, a nonprofit community organization committed to developing work for Detroiters and reducing barriers to small business growth and expansion.
The university project team includes Kristin Seefeldt, associate director …

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Detroit’s small business owners see summer boost through entrepreneurs project
August 22, 2021August 20, 2024

Working through a pandemic has been stressful enough for Detroit’s small-business community. Finding enough time, energy and talent to expand their companies through innovative programs, social media or new strategy has been doubly difficult. But a group of business owners got fresh insights into how to grow thanks to some uniquely talented University of Michigan student consultants.
These students in the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project, their advisors and community participants recently met on Zoom to outline the work seven student teams did for Detroit small businesses such as Ivy Kitchen + Cocktails, recapping problems Detroit business owners asked students to address …

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First person: Learning from Detroit businesses and fellow students
August 12, 2021August 20, 2024

This article was written by Michael Willard, BBA Ross School of Business/BA LSA ’23
This summer, I am one of 31 interns working in the University of Michigan Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project +Impact Studio for Local Business.
The interns come from the Ross School of Business, Ford School of Public Policy, Stamps School of Art & Design, and School of Information. The program began last year, with interns focused on creating tools for ecosystem-level problems in Detroit small businesses.
This year, we are working directly with small-business owners to solve the unique issues that affect multiple companies. To maximize our impact, each team is focusing on one …

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Applying academic skills to real-world business challenges
June 29, 2021August 20, 2024

Small businesses in Detroit, as across the country, have had to make major adjustments to survive the COVID-19 pandemic economic downturn. A cadre of students from U-M have been able to work with many of these businesses through an internship program coordinated by the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP) at the Ford School of Public Policy and +Impact Studio for Local Business (ISLB) at the Ross School of Business.
I have been fortunate to be a part of one of the multidisciplinary teams, collaborating with students from Ford and Ross as well as the Stamps School of Art & Design, the …

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Ford students assist Detroit small business owners with re-opening challenges
June 29, 2020August 20, 2024

The economic havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially disruptive to small businesses, which often depend on foot traffic and operate on smaller profit margins than their larger counterparts. As Michigan prepares to reopen its economy, small business owners are struggling with the financial viability of their businesses, the concerns of their families and their employees’ families, the needs of their customers, and the risks COVID-19 poses to their communities.
The University of Michigan’s Center on Finance, Law, and Policy, housed in the Ford School of Public Policy, has been awarded an $80,000 grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, …

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Dean Barr on the need to do more for communities and small businesses
April 23, 2020August 20, 2024

Hundreds of billions of dollars have been allocated to help small businesses and individuals in response to the COVID-19 financial crisis. Yet for low-income households and small businesses, accessing those funds has proved to be a challenge, according to Ford School Dean Michael Barr. In two commentaries, Barr argues that policy changes can help reach these underserved, under-banked communities.
More than 8 million households in the United States lack any savings or checking account, according to government data. And many banks approved by the Small Business Administration to process applications for the Paycheck Protection Program, or “PPP,” only worked with businesses …

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Center on Finance, Law, and Policy secures grant to assist Detroit entrepreneurs
August 30, 2017August 20, 2024

Students interview a pop-up restaurateur in Detroit as part of the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project.
Photo credit: Abigail DeHart ’19L

The Center on Finance, Law, and Policy, run by faculty director Michael Barr, has received a $125,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase for the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project.
The project, an interdisciplinary initiative involving the University of Michigan’s Law School, Ross School of Business, and Stamps School of Art & Design, helps Detroit neighborhood-based small businesses navigate a range of growth challenges including incorporation, intellectual property protection, automation, and more.
Student and faculty teams provide individual, direct service to entrepreneurs to address their most pressing …

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Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project Showcase

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