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 …

Center on Finance, Law & Policy releases do-it-yourself digital resource guide for small businesses

Center on Finance, Law & Policy releases do-it-yourself digital resource guide for small businesses

This digital resource guide is filled with links to resources in most of the areas affecting micro-businesses. It begins with some resources to help business owners get access to the internet. From there, it moves in a progression one might follow when starting a business: establishing a company name and brand, selling online, and then incorporating software or apps into other business functions to save you time and money. Each section begins with testimonials from business owners who were willing to share their pain points or the solutions that worked for them. Where there are organizations within our ecosystem who …

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 …

Changing neighborhoods: Building Detroit one entrepreneur at a time

It was Jevona Watson’s dream to have a coffee shop in the Fitzgerald neighborhood in northwest Detroit, a place she calls home. A matching Motor City Match grant in 2016 helped take the first steps toward her dream.
Despite a clear vision for her coffee shop—Detroit Sip—the process of opening the store presented an unfamiliar set of challenges.