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City funds entrepreneurship programs; council approves agreements for Create Campaign and independent business support
Summary
Council approved a $50,000 business services agreement with Create Campaign and a $100,000 agreement with the Wichita Independent Business Association (WEBA); the city also heard a presentation from Nexus on matched federal and private funding for entrepreneurship programs.
The Wichita City Council approved two business services agreements on Tuesday to support local entrepreneurship education and small business services: $50,000 to Create Campaign to support the Spark Community Business Academy and related coaching, and $100,000 to the Wichita Independent Business Association (WEBA) to continue core programs including StartUp Plus and a small business resource center.
Create Campaign president Christina Long told the council Spark is a nationally recognized 12‑week entrepreneurship program; city staff said the $50,000 agreement will subsidize program operating expenses and alumni coaching. Councilmember Johnson announced an abstention on the Create Campaign vote because of a potential conflict of interest; the council approved the agreement with one abstention.
WEBA representatives described expanded programming, a new small business resource center in the Ruffin Building, and work with Wichita State’s Center for Economic Development to build small‑business metrics. The $100,000 agreement supports ongoing seminars, the women’s leadership program (Lehi Up), Startup Plus, and a business resource center; council approved the contract unanimously.
Earlier in the meeting, Marybeth Jarvis of Nexis presented results from programs supported in part by $100,000 of city funds. She said that across several years the investment helped match roughly $1 million in federal and regional funds, supported cohorts of startups, and assisted in mobilizing private capital. Jarvis attributed hundreds of startups served, hundreds of group education sessions, and several thousand jobs created or retained over years of work to the ecosystem of partners the city funds.
Council members emphasized that supporting entrepreneurship is part of the council’s economic development priorities and asked staff to return with program metrics and continued collaboration plans. Staff recommended approval of both agreements and advised that funding was available in the 2025 Economic Development budget.
