Midland Council affirms support for Midland Entrepreneurial Challenge; entrepreneurs describe local impact

The Midland City Council approved support for the Midland Entrepreneurial Challenge as part of the consent agenda and heard public comments from past winners and program partners describing business growth tied to the program.

The Midland Entrepreneurial Challenge (MEC) is a local competition run in partnership with the Midland Development Corporation and the University of Texas Permian Basin. Past participants told the council the program provides funding, coaching and connections that have helped businesses launch and scale in Midland.

"Because of the support and resources provided through the MEC, we were able to expand our business in ways that have been truly life changing," Latoya Mayberry, owner of Toya's Precious Jewels Academy, told the council. Mayberry said the business added capacity to serve more than 50 additional families and employed 27 staff members after participating in the program.

Brian Shedd, executive director of the Office of Innovation and Commercialization at UT Permian Basin, told council staff and members the MEC has been run by the university for seven years and has produced durable outcomes: "Over the years of the program, we've had 34 businesses that have won award money, since the program started in 2017. More than 80% of those businesses are still open." Shedd also said 200 businesses have competed in the last four years and that registrations were oversubscribed last year.

Laura Smith, business director at the Birth Center of Midland and a 2022 MEC winner, said the center used its award to equip its facility and has since delivered 385 babies and created 13 jobs, adding it is now on track to deliver 500 births in a year.

Council members who spoke after public comment noted the program’s nonfinancial benefits. "It's not just the money," Mayor Lori Blong said, referencing coaching and networking the program provides. "There's a lot of other tools that y'all get from that."

The council had already approved the related consent agenda item earlier in the meeting. The mayor announced the consent motion carried unanimously and said the MEC item would remain on record as approved.

Why it matters: Council approval keeps a locally run business-acceleration program in place that city officials and past participants say boosts small-business formation and retention. Speakers asked the city to continue supporting the MEC as one pathway to diversify and strengthen Midland’s local economy.

What happens next: The program will continue under the existing partnership structure between the Midland Development Corporation and UT Permian Basin unless future council action changes funding or oversight.