Student Voice: Deborah Abodunrin on DNEP’s Summer Internship Program

Getting my Hands Dirty: Impact Edition (Inside my 3 Months of Summer with DNEP)
Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project. If you asked me before the summer of 2024, I would have never heard of DNEP. Little did I know that later on, this single acronym would carry memorable outcomes, valued experiences, and pride in its mission. I joined DNEP with a curiosity to dive deeper into the intersection between Business + Impact. As a result, I left with my first comprehensive hands-on consulting experience, strong professional and personal connections with my peers from various schools, and invaluable skills gained from our work …

Three community tech workers stand on stage holding a microphone with banner behind them for Digital Inclusion Week

DNEP’s Community Tech Worker Project Expands to Live6 with National Science Foundation Grant

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 …

U-M awarded grant to support Detroit entrepreneurs in bridging digital divide

U-M awarded grant to support Detroit entrepreneurs in bridging digital divide

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 …

FIRST PERSON: Learning from Detroit businesses and fellow students

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 Michigan Ross and U-M’s Stamps School of Art & Design, the School of Information, and the Ford School of Public Policy. The program began last year, with interns focused on creating tools for ecosystem-level problems in Detroit small businesses.