Detroit

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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Michigan Ross and Ford Students Work with the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project
July 15, 2020August 20, 2024

COVID-19 changed everything for small businesses in Detroit. Now business owners have dozens of new issues to think through as they pivot business models, weigh costs & benefits, and figure out when and how to re-open. Thanks to the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, they have almost 40 Michigan Ross and Ford students on hand to help.

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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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Entrepreneur Resource for COV-ID: Update Your Business Hours
April 1, 2020August 20, 2024

With a statewide shelter in place order in effect in Michigan, small businesses in Michigan are being forced to pivot or seek emergency/disaster funding to survive.
In support of the University of Michigan’s Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project, the Center on Finance, Law & Policy will be releasing a series of resources to help business owners. The first resource was released today, which is simply a guide to help businesses update their listings on Google.
The idea for the resource came from RA Malika Begum (Ford School of Public Policy MPP), who observed that people are using Google to determine which businesses are …

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We asked Detroit entrepreneurs: What do you hate about accounting?
October 12, 2018August 20, 2024

In a partnership between the University of Michigan’s Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project and Business + Impact at the Ross School of Business, accounting students provide free accounting assistance and advice every Friday. Services are free but by appointment only. (Yes, you can make recurring appointments and come back every week if you are doing something like applying for a loan and need weekly check-ins.) Open to all businesses, regardless of location, and to non-profits.
We know most small business owners hate dealing with their company financials. Through break-even analysis, start-up cost analysis, financial projections, cost of goods sold analysis, or just …

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New U-M interdisciplinary clinic assists Detroit entrepreneurs
February 2, 2017August 20, 2024

Two weeks ago, 22 students from the Law School, the Ross School of Business, and the Stamps School of Art & Design plus 10 faculty members from those same schools gathered in an unremarkable Ross classroom for what is the beginning of a remarkable experience: the launch of a new interdisciplinary clinic at the University of Michigan known as the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project (DNEP).
DNEP is a cross-school engaged learning experience that brings together law students, business students, art and design students, and engineering/computer science students into interdisciplinary teams to provide advice and services to selected Detroit entrepreneurs. According to …

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Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project Showcase

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