“Where do we find those untapped entrepreneurs, how do we reach those untapped entrepreneurs — that’s the role of IBROC,“ which stands for the Innovation Business Resource Opportunity Center, said Scott Koorndyk, president of the Entrepreneurs’ Center. “Dayton is blessed to have a multitude of organizations that are helping entrepreneurs and helping small businesses. This really connects those organizations together and lets us speak with a single vision and a single voice.”
Dayton city government is providing $2.4 million in grant funding for the IBROC, which will be operated by the Entrepreneurs’ Center, in partnership with the Miami Valley Urban League. The funding comes from the Dayton Recovery Plan, which is the city’s spending blueprint for the $138 million it received in federal COVID relief dollars.
IBROC will be located in the Dayton Arcade and will employ a couple of staff members, and city funding will support the program through the end of 2028.
The center, which is expected to launch in early summer, will provide support, tools and training to the small business community, especially historically underserved entrepreneurs.
IBROC has been described as a collaborative hub that will make it easy for new and established business owners to access resources and time-saving tools, plus connect with a network of partners and service providers.
“The IBROC exists to create an entirely new support structure for small businesses,” said Koorndyk. “It will act as a central contact point for entrepreneurs who are seeking help. It will ensure that the hard work of connecting to resources doesn’t take so much effort for the entrepreneur, that they can quickly get help, instead of having to tell their story to many different organizations.”
IBROC is a “missing link” in Dayton’s small business support system, said Belinda Matthews Stenson, vice president of business inclusion for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.
The center will provide an added level of support and formal structure for business support organizations, including coordination and alignment of service delivery and an assessment of “ecosystem” resources, Matthews Stenson said.
Supporters say IBROC will simplify the process that entrepreneurs must go through to access funding, mentorship and operational guidance. They say IBROC will greatly improve coordination between business service organizations.
“We are not here to duplicate efforts ... we are here to amplify them,” said Nikol Miller, executive director of the Miami Valley Urban League. “We are here to lift up what’s working, fill in the gaps where support is missing and make sure our ecosystem is coordinated, equitable and responsive to the needs of both our entrepreneurs and those who serve them.”
Dayton has seen strong job gains in the last decade, but minority businesses have not enjoyed the same kind of growth, and IBROC should help shift the culture, said Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr.
“This is very special for the city of Dayton,” he said. “We had some controversy when we started discussing this at the very beginning, but I’m happy that we all came together and made a decision that’s something best for the citizens of Dayton.”
The controversy the mayor referenced arose when the city decided to give up hosting the minority business assistance center (MBAC) a couple of years ago.
The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce took over the responsibility of hosting the center, which had been housed with the city’s Human Relations Council for many years. MBAC offers free assistance to minorities, women and small businesses in Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clark, Champaign, Darke, Preble, Mercer, Auglaize, Shelby, Logan and Madison counties.
Two years ago, city Commissioners Darryl Fairchild and Shenise Turner-Sloss questioned why the city would give up MBAC and fund a new program (IBROC), even though they seemed to have a similar mission and goals.
Fairchild recently told this newspaper that he thinks giving up MBAC was a mistake, but he has accepted the city commission’s decision. He said he is going to be a strong advocate for IBROC because small businesses and entrepreneurs need help.
Matthews Stenson said MBAC provides direct services to small businesses, like certification and assistance with business development, access to capital assistance and contracting.
She said IBROC will support the ecosystem, serving as a convener and coordinating capacity-building assistance among business support organizations.
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