It’s hard to believe that the last challenge is over for our cohort! On May 19th, we wrapped up Challenge #5, With Techtown Swot and Prosper US. My team worked with ProsperUS to create an outreach toolkit that could help to strengthen the engagement done to bring awareness to their micro lending program; specifically to immigrant entrepreneurs. This challenge was the most eye opening for me, because it helped me to consider a sector of the population that I never have before. I haven’t had the opportunity to hear and learn from immigrant entrepreneurs before, even though I have been frequenting their businesses for years.
For this challenge, our team
got to know immigrant entrepreneurs from all around the world who have decided to make Detroit home. They are inspiring, unique and resilient and I couldn’t imagine Detroit’s business ecosystem without them. After hearing the feedback from several immigrant business owners (who tied business success to community support, having examples of success, and having a positive attitude) we decided to create a story telling campaign that could share the triumphs of the entrepreneurs who have gone through the ProsperUs business development program and received a micro loan.
We also created guidelines and suggested that ProsperUS put on community entrepreneur dinners in a comfortable setting, that would allow successful immigrant entrepreneurs to casually share their business highlights and challenges with aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs. I am also happy to say that Challenge Detroit has been invited to Detroit Start Up Week on Friday, May 26th to share our projects and final deliverables with the community.
It will be cool to be involved with Start Up Week in several different capacities; my host company is also engaged and is the creators and facilitators of Quick Loans Detroit Demo Day, which will happen on Thursday, May 25th, during Start Up Week. The Month of May is opening my eyes to the beauty and importance of entrepreneurship as it pertains to creating stronger and more vibrant and diverse communities. I’m excited to see how entrepreneurship aids in the overall growth of Detroit in the coming years.
Gabrial Taylor
Year 5 Challenge Detroit Fellow