04 Aug Driving Regional Progress: Highlights from CELC Innovation Day
Driving Regional Progress: Highlights from CELC Innovation Day
If you run a business in Charlotte, you already know the drill: hiring is tough, retaining talent is even harder, finding the right funding or support programs feels like solving a puzzle, and navigating local government and non-profit resources usually means getting passed from one website to another.
That is exactly what CELC Innovation Day set out to fix.
Powered by the Truist Rapid Innovation Program, leaders from across Charlotte came together, including business executives, non-profit leaders, and local officials, to stop working in silos and start building tools that actually make sense for local employers.
A Tool Built for How You Work
Instead of handing you another giant directory of links to click through, the goal is to build an intuitive, AI-powered system that helps you navigate Charlotte’s business ecosystem on your own terms.
Think of it like a personalized guide: it takes the goals and challenges specific to your business and instantly connects you to the exact programs, grants, and talent pipelines that fit your situation, with no extra steps and no dead ends.
Led in strategic partnership by CELC Executive Director and Charlotte Works Board Vice Chair Blair Stanford, teams spent the day mapping out solutions to fix broken connections between employers and job seekers. Charlotte Works President and CEO Anna London led sessions on getting next-generation talent ready for immediate hiring demands, while Chief Impact Officer Kevin Loux focused on helping experienced workers transition into open roles across our region.
“Thoughtful leaders from public, private, and nonprofit entities gathered with small business owners to explore what support gaps exist in the ecosystem and how the community might respond. One thing became clear: entrepreneurs do not need another directory of resources. They need help navigating the Charlotte Region’s ecosystem and understanding which organizations, programs, and funding opportunities are most relevant to their specific goals and circumstances. A compelling vision emerged of a personalized pathway that connects entrepreneurs with trusted resources and people, and that creates a framework for support throughout the business growth journey, shared Karen K. Brand, Charlotte Regional Business Alliance Vice President, Small Business.
What’s Next?
Our teams are moving forward to establishing clear roadmaps to roll this tool out, making it faster and easier for you to grow your business and build a reliable and sustainable workforce here in Charlotte.
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