Guilford College and The Nussbaum Center for Entrepreneurship will partner to explore ways to build and support local entrepreneurial businesses, particularly those involving refugees and immigrants.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this month calls for the College and the Nussbaum Center, Greensboro’s small business incubator, to collaborate on addressing common challenges around entrepreneurship in the Triad and beyond. 

Guilford President Kyle Farmbry says many refugees and immigrants living in the Triad were entrepreneurs in their native countries but language and culture obstacles along with different business rules create obstacles for them in their new home.

“We want to partner with groups that can help identify those obstacles and overcome them,” says Kyle. “We think Nussbaum is the perfect organization to help us do just that.”

Nussbaum President Lisa Hazlett says her group gets inquiries from many Triad organizations that work with refugee and resettlement organizations.

“We hear from other non-profit leaders that their program participants could really use our assistance with starting a business,” says Lisa. “There’s a real need – and a growing need – for a program like this. This is the first partnership of its kind to specifically address the needs of refugees and immigrants who want to pursue entrepreneurship. It was a natural choice to partner with Guilford College on this initiative.”

The College and the Nussbaum Center will also explore internship opportunities for Guilford undergraduate and graduate students through partnerships with selected Associate businesses currently in residence at The Nussbaum Center.

Sam Funchess ’98, CEO of the Nussbaum Center, has long partnered with the College in various capacities. Lisa was promoted to President in 2022 and Sam moved into a more strategic role with the Nussbaum Center when he was named VP of Investor Relations for Center graduate Guerrilla RF.