The Urban Entrepreneur Partnership (UEP) Inc. was founded in 2005 by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a $1.8 billion private foundation dedicated to nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit and supporting the growth of businesses in American communities.
The Foundation consulted with academic and business experts across the country to develop a premium business solution designed to produce rapid return on investment. The outcome of these conversations was the UEP, a program distinguished by a unique and innovative one-to-one business coaching model.
In 2005, partnering with the White House and the Business Roundtable, an association of leading CEOs, Kauffman launched the UEP with the specific goal of fostering minority entrepreneurship in urban-core communities.
Later that year, following the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the UEP established a specially tailored version of its program—the UEP Gulf Coast Inc.—to help revitalize economies and rebuild communities affected by the storms.
In 2010, the UEP initiated a customized program in Southeast Michigan. The UEP Detroit 150 is assisting 150 leading automotive suppliers—companies generating from $1 million to $400 million in annual revenues—as they expand into new industries, including aerospace, alternative energy, medical devices, homeland security and the military.
The success of these initial programs led to increased demand for the UEP’s business coaching services. In response, the UEP has now expanded to offer world-class coaching to individuals and corporations on a cost-effective, fee-for-service basis, available through a choice of delivery systems: video, a traditional brick-and-mortar program, or a hybrid of the two.
We at the UEP believe that this unique program will increase the number of profitable, sustainable businesses in communities across the nation, creating the wealth and jobs needed to strengthen local and regional economies, contributing ultimately to a healthier national economy.