Officials revive Alabama business incubator

A Decatur, Alabama, business incubator is now back open for business after city officials revamped what had been a largely stagnant project in recent years, according to the Decatur Daily.

According to the paper, the incubator is now a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and has been renamed the Decatur-Morgan County Entrepreneurial Center. The city council has already voted to give the facility $460,000 in funding over the next five years.

“For the investment we’re making, it could be the biggest impact Decatur has seen in a long time,” Councilman Roger Anders told the paper.

The incubator’s director told the Daily that the center should be self-sufficient by the time the city’s funding runs out, and that its first tenant will move in on July 1.

The facility will help companies in their very early stages of business formation by providing services such as offices, utilities and secretarial services at reduced costs, while also allowing entrepreneurs access to business plan reviews, mentoring and training courses.

The National Business Incubation Association says that business incubators have seen strong growth in recent years. The Association says that there are now more than 1,100 of them in the United States, which have helped nurture more than 27,000 companies.