As the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) wraps up the second cycle of their Alabama Launchpad business startup competition and prepares for the third and final 2023 cycle to begin this August, President Greg Barker says they are proud of the “robust class” of 32 candidates who are competing for funding to launch their small business.

Trussville’s Cahaba Fire Company and Birmingham’s Domestique Coffee secured wins for the Birmingham metro area in Launchpad’s first cycle earlier this year, earning a combined total of $75,000.

Barker contributed Birmingham’s strong Launchpad showing to the metro’s “mature” economy and said it is the EDPA’s mission to ensure that all of the state’s regions are able to succeed using the assets they have as we discussed what’s ahead for Birmingham specifically in 2023.

So, what made the EDPA choose Birmingham as its base of operations?

So, when you think about economic development from a statewide perspective, of course, you have the Alabama Department of Commerce, and that’s the state’s economic development organization. And that’s the governor’s arm for economic development. So, they are in Montgomery.