Track the Plan: Strategy 7

Attract and grow high-wage industry and innovation: technology, advanced manufacturing, and life sciences

In alignment with recommended actions from Strategy 7, the following metrics focus on fostering economic competitiveness, innovation and transformation to demonstrate the Economic Competitiveness & Inclusion Plan’s impact:

Increase in share of entrepreneurial businesses and specifically those in targeted sectors

Expand business support network to advance entrepreneurial activity

  • Ramsey County was awarded $1.5M in congressionally directed spending in late 2022.   This funding will support a virtual small business reimagination center that with the intent to strengthen small business and the small business ecosystem that served as a critical lifeline over the course of the COVID pandemic. The project will accelerate business growth particularly for racially and ethnically diverse businesses, develop entrepreneurship pathways, and strengthen the capacity for more culturally specific business advisory services and counseling and support business planning and site selection, navigate business lending to grow local investment particularly for racially and ethnically diverse business owners, and develop incubation spaces for small business ideation.  Work is still in the pre-planning stages.  Updates are anticipated in late 2023. 
  • Continued involvement with the Open to Business program.  Open to Business provides direct technical assistance and other forms of support to small business owners and entrepreneurs. In 2022, Open to Business served 64 existing businesses and 26 start-ups. 71% of program participants are from racial and/or ethnic communities. 

Use Ramsey County Means Business website to encourage and attract niche manufacturing

  • No updates to provide at this time.

Use the Ramsey County Means Business website to attract small-scale medical device companies

Map the ecosystem of business technical assistance for biotech and advanced manufacturing industries. 

  • No updates to provide at this time.