A consortium of universities and the Blackstone Charitable Foundation have announced the launch of the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network.
This is a five year initiative that will help North Carolina’s Research Triangle become the center for the next lot of high growth companies in America. This is also likely to have great potential to create new job opportunities in the state.
The universities participating in the venture include Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Durham based Council for Entrepreneurial Development will also be part of the network.
The $3.63 million from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation will help the formation of a network that will offer support to entrepreneurial effort in the region. They hope to create an ambience like those which exist at Silicon Valley and the Boston Corridor.
The program hopes to identify and mentor about 30 start up operations annually in the five year span. They hope to create about 17,000 new jobs and attract $800 million worth of seed capital for these businesses. The potential revenue generation from these combined efforts is likely to be in the $4 billion region.