North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall will visit Pembroke on Tuesday, April 9, to hear first-hand about the issues facing local businesses and brainstorm ways to support local businesses and future regional entrepreneurs. hosted a business roundtable event.
At the end of 2021, Marshall’s office launched Rural RISE NC, an initiative to support small and local businesses in the state. The program currently serves 72 counties, including Robeson, Moore and Hoke.
“Federal and state governments and nonprofit organizations have long provided assistance, but there is a huge gap in who knows about it,” Marshall explained.
Rural RISE NC aims to help attract and retain people to rural areas by strengthening local entrepreneurship.
“2023 ended with 172,000 new business creations, the second-highest number ever for that year…and now the first three months of 2024 are on pace to match that,” Marshall said. said.
Local elected officials were also present at the business roundtable, and following their remarks to business owners, they were able to provide input on how they can work with business owners to achieve solutions.
Roundtable participants included restaurateurs, caterers, farmers, teachers, and more. Each took time to share their stories and reflect on some of the challenges they are working to overcome, including financial constraints, finding qualified workers, and meeting regulatory requirements.
“Our goal was to do everything we could to extend the lifespan of these new businesses by months and years. It’s critical to our overall economy. At the end of the day, businesses If we fail, it doesn’t help anyone,” Secretary Marshall said.
By fostering open discussion about the challenges that come with entrepreneurship, Marshall hopes to encourage more local partnerships and group efforts to help these small businesses thrive.
Interested parties can learn more about Rural RISE NC online.
https://sosnc.gov/rural_rise/index
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