Take a Closer Look at Rural Entrepreneurs
Like their big-city counterparts, rural entrepreneurs contribute to their economies and influence small business ecosystems.
But often, says Ina Metzer, co-founder of RuralRISE, they're not getting the credit they deserve.
"Rural communities are not a monolith," she writes in , the Kauffman Foundation newsletter.
Entrepreneurs in these regions support their rural communities and act as role models for their colleagues, the foundation adds.
Innovation and entrepreneurship are blind to location, says RuralRise, which seeks to increase opportunities and accessibility to rural entrepreneurs.
According to Metzer, these entrepreneurs in rural areas are significantly improving their communities through effective programming, the delivery of goods and services, the promotion of tourism, and other activities.
Ultimately, they support a distinctive array of local economies. she writes in the September article, which is part of the Kauffman Foundation's "Uncommon Voices" series.
The USDA recently pointed to the importance of rural entrepreneurs and acknowledged the need for increased access.
The success of the American economy depends heavily on the country's rural entrepreneur, USDA Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said in a announcing a new USDA to support rural entrepreneurs.
"They create jobs for the people in their communities, start businesses and industries that expand financial opportunities, and deliver products and services that improve the lives of people across this nation."
A SCORE meta-analysis found that businesses with less than 50 employees provide 42 percent of all jobs in rural America.
But the mentor organization says entrepreneurs in rural and non-metropolitan areas face challenges, often differing by location, including a lack of funding access and limited broadband in some areas.
These challenges, such as limited access to venture capital, angel investments, and other funding, can make the road to entrepreneurship more difficult for some, notes SCORE CEO Bridget Weston in a .
According to SCORE, nearly 60 percent of rural communities rely on smaller banks and credit unions as a primary source of financing, but 89 percent of counties that were deeply affected by bank closures were in non-metropolitan areas. Further, the group says only 0.7 percent of angel investor funding goes toward small, rural businesses.
Dispelling Stereotypes
RuralRise works to dispel rural stereotypes, which Metzer says can lead to blocked opportunities for rural entrepreneurs.
In the Currents article, she points to U.S. Census Bureau statistics indicating that "modern rural America" is becoming racially diverse and that rural entrepreneurs are not all farmers.
Rural entrepreneurs experience added difficulties in overcoming these prejudices, leading to the importance of entrepreneurial ecosystems in the development of rural enterprises, Metzer writes.
Metzer cites Mountain BizWorks as an example of a business whose mission includes supporting other rural entrepreneurs in the area. Founded by entrepreneurs in Asheville, N.C., BizWorks works to provide other small business founders access to capital and resources, according to the Currents article.
"Opportunities to receive startup sponsorship can be profoundly impactful for underserved entrepreneurs especially founders of color," Metzer writes. "Mountain BizWork contributes to an entrepreneurial ecosystem on which other business people can build."