BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS – The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service obtained a number of interviews at the grand opening of the eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization in downtown Brownsville.
More than 400 people from across South Texas were in attendance to tour what is being dubbed the largest startup incubator and entrepreneurial resource center in the Rio Grande Valley. Conceived by the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation and UT-Rio Grande Valley, the center is dedicated to advancing an open and inclusive ecosystem of entrepreneurship.
In her interview with the Guardian, Brownsville City Commissioner Nurith Galonsky spoke about how the opening of the center brought things “full circle.” She pointed out that her parents, Guillermina and Abraham Galonsky, first met at the old La Casa del Nylon factory, which the eBridge Center used to be. The family would later own the building.
“I’m glad that it’s here in downtown, close to the university, so that it’s convenient for students, for entrepreneurs, who are just getting their their business started. And it’s great use of this building. So I’m just glad that it’s in the heart of downtown,” Galonsky said.
Fredrick ‘Rick’ Jenet, founder of Expanding Frontiers, spoke about his efforts to help budding entrepreneurs that want to start a tech company.
Constanza Miner, interim executive director and CEO of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, spoke about expanding an existing industrial park in Brownsville and developing a new one.
Charles Woodin, CEO of Geekdom, and Phillip Hernandez, the group’s COO, spoke about their aim to help 500 startup companies develop in San Antonio over the next ten years.
And Nathan Burkhart, director of marketing and small business development at Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation, spoke about the eBridge Center hosting a boot camp with Geekdom.
Here are the interviews:
Audio
A ‘transformational endeavor’
On social media, Burkhart said he was “happy, relieved and excited” to see the eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization finally opened.
“It’s a project I’ve been dedicated to since the Summer of 2019, and one that has taken so, so many organizations and individuals to accomplish,” Burkhart said.
“It’s a transformational endeavor not just for the City of Brownsville but throughout the Rio Grande Valley as we cultivate an open and inclusive ecosystem, create opportunities for our homegrown community, and establish entrepreneurial equity by providing all the same resources more affluent communities already do.”
Burkhart added: Regionalism is our strength down here, and with this center we have a true example of regional economic development.”
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