SEED Entrepreneurship Program
The Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED) Program is a new initiative funded by the State of CA Employment Training Panel to fulfill two fundamental public policy goals: 1) serve vulnerable communities facing significant barriers to employment by providing them with entrepreneurial opportunities, and 2) promote entrepreneurship of individuals who may be precluded from obtaining gainful employment (due to either immigration status or limited English proficiency).
LISC San Diego and the San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition (SDRCC) have received a $1Million grant to implement the SEED program in San Diego. The program components include entrepreneurship training, technical assistance, and micro-grants for refugee and immigrant entrepreneurs. 75% of the funding is allocated for micro-grants to participating entrepreneurs to support them in starting or maintaining a small business aimed at addressing a social problem or meeting a community need.
The San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition is facilitated by UCSD Center for Community Health- Refugee Health Unit (UCSD-RHU). LISC and UCSD-RHU have contracted Sandra Martinez, a consultant with expertise in delivering micro-enterprise training in immigrant communities. Sandra will support the development of a new 20-hour business development curriculum and “train the trainers” by preparing staff members from each of our eight partner Ethnic Community-Based Organizations (ECBOs) to be able to teach this curriculum to at least one cohort of 15-20 entrepreneurs from a specific refugee population in their preferred language. In order to be eligible for a micro-grant, entrepreneurs must complete at least 80% of the training, develop a business plan, and be actively working with a business coach.
Our partner ECBOs include:
- Haitian Bridge Alliance
- License to Freedom
- Somali Bantu Community Center of San Diego
- South Sudanese Community Center
- Refugee Assistance Center
- Horn of Africa
- Karen Organization San Diego
- United Women of East Africa Support Team
The SEED Entrepreneur Training Program will commence in mid-August and consists of ten weekly 2-hour sessions We will have 8 –10 simultaneous cohorts conducted in the following languages: Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, English, Haitian, Karen, Nuer, Somali, Swahili and Tigrinya. If you are interested in participating, register for a training cohort here: https://lisc.tfaforms.net/400
Only entrepreneurs who complete the SEED training program with one of our partner organizations will be eligible to apply for the micro-grant. The grant application will open in November 2020 and grants will range between $2,500 - $7,500. Recipients of the grants will be required to provide documentation of how grant funds were expended.