Rutgers Business School Research Center Integrates Venture Capital and City Resources With University Research to Spur Economic Development

16th September 2009

The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at Rutgers Business School (CUEED -- business.rutgers.edu/CUEED) is the first centre of its kind in the nation to integrate venture capital and city resources with university research to study and instigate economic development and entrepreneurship.

The centre is building upon Rutgers' historic relationship with the City of
Newark and contributing to the city's revitalization by helping small- and
medium-sized companies that are minority-owned and operated.

"We want to create wealth in the urban community," said CUEED Director D T Ogilvie, Ph.D. "We want people to spend money here, put people in business here, create jobs here. Our model is to transfer business know-how to people trying to make their businesses succeed."

Paul V. Profeta, a New Jersey-based real estate executive, has made this first initiative a reality by partnering with CUEED to establish a not-for-profit
equity fund -- the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation at Rutgers Business
School.

The fund allows CUEED to help Newark-based companies within a mile of RBS to attract financing to start businesses in sectors such as retail, arts, and entertainment that will employ Newark's residents and give the city and its people much-needed services and products. "CUEED helped me secure financing at a time when money was scarce," said entrepreneur John Murray who opened the Coffee Cave, a cafe near the business school in Newark.

Enabled by its corporate, government, and community partnerships, CUEED
launched the Entrepreneurship Pioneers Initiative (EPI). Funded by the North
Jersey Partners of WIRED through a grant provided by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, EPI is a robust program that equips first generation entrepreneurs with the training and tools needed to help them grow their businesses.

Participants receive extensive training, group and 1-on-1 counseling,
networking opportunities, mentoring, and financial guidance. The 50
entrepreneurs have been enthusiastic with the program. "This is exactly what I need right now to get my business going," said Kermick Santos, who started his business three years ago.

A MBA concentration in entrepreneurship directed by CUEED's leadership
encourages MBA students to generate new sources of enterprise, develop
innovative business ideas, and create new jobs. Graduates will have the skills to launch new businesses, or take on business development and other leadership roles at growth-oriented organizations.

"Our deep dive into entrepreneurship combines fostering an entrepreneurial
culture wherever you work, whether it be a small firm or large enterprise,"
said Susan Gilbert, Executive Director and Associate Dean of the MBA Program. "We want our MBA students to create new sources of wealth, jobs, and revenues in New Jersey and around the world."

CUEED also created the Rutgers Initiative in Social Entrepreneurship (RISE), a program aimed at empowering budding social entrepreneurs on the Rutgers Newark and New Brunswick campuses and in the surrounding communities. Through various activities, students, faculty, and the community are engaged in learning about and using the social entrepreneurship approach.

"The research-based CUEED is emerging as a national model for how universities operating in urban areas can facilitate economic development to revitalize cities," said Rutgers Business School Dean Michael R. Cooper, Ph.D.

See also
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS108156+16-Sep-2009+PRN20090916
Rutgers Business School - http://business.rutgers.edu