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Forward Cities and Knox Street Studios brief Durham commissioners on ARPA-funded small-business supports
Summary
Two ARPA-funded contractors — Forward Cities and Knox Street Studios — updated the Board on small-business support programming covering accelerators, digital certification, AI training, counseling and access-to-capital services; contracts run through June 30, 2026.
On April 7 Forward Cities and Knox Street Studios updated the Durham County Board on ARPA-funded programs designed to support local entrepreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Magalie Yacinthe, senior director of programs for Forward Cities, described plans to scale a community-informed navigation model that provides no-cost entrepreneurship navigation, building on E3 Durham experience. Lee Gray, associate director at Knox Street Studios, described programming for growth-stage and tech companies, including startup weekends, support-to-scale incubators (with commercial real-estate and venture-capital tracks), an eight-week digital certification cohort focused on AI skills, tech workshops, one-on-one counseling and connections to capital partners. Both contracts run through June 30, 2026, and were approved by the Board previously; presenters answered questions about social capital and local support networks and invited entrepreneurs to share success stories.
No new Board action was taken at the work session; the presentations provided an update on program activities and next steps for service delivery to Durham entrepreneurs.
