This spotlight is part of the “PLACE Builders fellows” series. More information about the PLACE (Pava LaPere Award for Cultivating Ecosystems) Builders fellowship can be found here.
Arsh Haque
Far West Region
Far West fellow, Arsh Haque, is launching culturally-specific accelerator programs with a focus on race and neuroatypicality. Their unique program at the Portland State Business Accelerator identified traded sectors that have overrepresentation by marginalized groups but have been under-resourced.
"I'm motivated to create more inclusive entrepreneurial environments for founders like me."
Arsh Haque
The goal is to serve these founders by setting up culturally-specific accelerator programs and connecting them with community and additional resources, breaking down barriers along the way. They plan to work with the Regional Innovation Hub to pilot a community liaison program designed to compensate and resource those who help engage marginalized communities in entrepreneurial ecosystem building.
As a PLACE Builders fellow, Arsh is excited to learn about developing a national community of ecosystem builders, the expertise and resources such a community could share, and the opportunities for professional development.
Meet the other PLACE Builders fellows:
Inspired by the legacy of Pava LaPere, forever Chief Ecosystem Officer and Co-Founder of EcoMap Technologies, as a tribute to her legacy of fighting for equal access to opportunity, the PLACE (Pava LaPere Award for Cultivating Ecosystems) Builders fellowship aims to catalyze more equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems by providing intensive training, peer support, and community pilots to eight selected fellows.
We invite you to support the inaugural PLACE Builders fellowship fund.