Start-up Talk: Kauffman Foundation to sponsor entrepreneur summit in Little Rock

Editor’s note: Each Thursday, Talk Business & Politics provides “Startup Talk,” a round-up of startup, technology and entrepreneurial news.

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KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION TO SPONSOR ENTREPRENEUR SUMMIT IN LITTLE ROCK IN LATE JULY
The Kauffman Foundation, the highly-influential Kansas City, Mo.-based nonprofit and founder of the nationwide “One Millions Cups” movement and other programs for startup entrepreneurs, will sponsor the Mayor’s Summit on Entrepreneurship in Little Rock on July 21-22.

The two-day event, to be held at Acxiom Corp.’s downtown headquarters, will include panel discussions, breakout sessions and a luncheon with Trey Bowles of the Dallas Entrepreneur Center as the keynote speaker.

In the past, Kauffman held similar events across the U.S. to help cities build diverse and inclusive entrepreneurial systems that foster equitable economic growth. The program concludes each year with an annual conference that brings mayors and entrepreneurship experts together to discuss ways to promote startup activity and encourage higher levels of entrepreneurship in their cities. The 2016 Mayors Conference on Entrepreneurship will be held in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Dec. 1-2.

For more information, click here.

SPRINT TO DEDICATE NEW REGIONAL OFFICES IN LITTLE ROCK
Little Rock economic officials and representatives from Sprint will hold a ribbon-cutting event Thursday (July 14) for the official opening of the nation’s fourth-largest wireless provider’s new Little Rock regional offices. Sprint’s newly-renovated 5,000 square-foot headquarters at 900 South Shackleford Road will be home to the telecom giant’s South Central regional office for consumer and business sales, marketing, and finance.

The Little Rock regional office is part of Sprint’s overall restructuring efforts first announced in late 2015 to help the Kansas City-based telecom giant compete better with larger rivals AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. Under its new structure, Sprint has divided the country into four geographical areas (West, Center, Northeast and South) with 18 major regions.

COMMERCE DEPARTMENT AWARDS $3.3 MILLION TO SMALL BUSINESSES FOR INNOVATION RESEARCH
The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently announced that 19 small businesses will receive nearly $3.3 million in grants to spur U.S. innovation and competitiveness through federally-funded research and development.

Awardees in 12 states, ranging in size from one to 115 employees, will receive Phase I or Phase II funding through NIST’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The competitively selected awardees submitted proposals in response to calls for innovative products to solve specific technology challenges in advanced manufacturing, advanced sensing for manufacturing, biomanufacturing, cyber-physical systems, cybersecurity and technology transfer.

To see a list of this year’s winners, visit here.