Last week in his State of the Union address, President Obama emphasized the need for investment and innovation to drive America’s continued economic recovery. Today, the White House and several senior cabinet members are joining some of the country’s leading entrepreneurs to launch the Startup America Partnership to help achieve Obama’s goal.
Bringing together partners from the public and private sectors, Startup America will help spur entrepreneurial development and increase both the number and success of high-growth startup ventures in the United States. The Partnership is cofounded by the Kauffman Foundation, an organization dedicated to entrepreneurship, and the Case Foundation, a group founded to encourage civic engagement and philanthropy.
So far, several American corporations have also pledged their support to the partnership and made commitments including:
- $200 million of new investment in U.S. companies from Intel and advice on best practices from Intel’s senior leadership.
- $150 million in investment in 2011 from IBM to fund programs that promote entrepreneurs and new business opportunities in the United States.
- More than $4 million in 2011 from HP for their Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs, a program to help small business owners build commercial opportunities.
- A new Facebook initiative called Startup Days to help entrepreneurs connect with business expertise, resources and engineers to accelerate their businesses.
At the launch event, Obama highlighted the connection between entrepreneurship in America and a thriving economy. “Entrepreneurs embody the promise of America: the idea that if you have a good idea and are willing to work hard and see it through, you can succeed in this country. And in fulfilling this promise, entrepreneurs also play a critical role in expanding our economy and creating jobs.”