The Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) has established the new Small Business and Entrepreneurship Division with Katherine Andrews as the division director.
In this newly created role, Andrews will head up AEDC’s small business and entrepreneurship initiatives. She will identify and implement best practices to increase entrepreneurship in Arkansas.
This division was created with the purpose of streamlining AEDC’s services, creating a centralized hub for small business resources.
“Arkansans are known worldwide for their entrepreneurial spirit,” Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston said in a statement. “Small businesses and entrepreneurship are the heartbeat of our business community, and we understand the value they bring to our economy. Through this division, we will be able to provide more partnership to existing small business resource providers and support our business community more efficiently. I’m confident that Katherine will provide outstanding leadership toward these efforts.”
Andrews has served as a project manager within AEDC’s Business Development Division since 2016. As a project manager, she has focused on managing projects in the food and beverage, corporate and shared services, and technology industries.
She previously served as a commercial real estate sales associate for the Hathaway Group in Little Rock.
“The economic impact of our state’s small businesses is significant and crosses every sector in every region,” Andrews said. “I’m honored to have been given this opportunity to continue to serve the state of Arkansas, and I look forward to working with our small businesses and entrepreneurs to foster their growth and success.”
Andrews is set to begin her new role on Tuesday, June 1.
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