This article was originally published by KRGV.
As the co-fonder of Supply Pay, William Steele works with companies across the Rio Grande Valley and Latin America
Supply Pay works with cross border trade finance, mostly across the fresh produce space, and has so far financed a million and a half dollars in trade.
“Being able to help facilitate that trade, and really help make an impact on the farmers’ lives and on the growers’ lives and the suppliers in Mexico, it’s huge for me,” Steele said.
Steele and his partner helped grow their business through the Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation.
“It makes me really happy that we were actually able to build a successful technology company in a place where people maybe think it's nonexistent,” Steele said.
Supply Pay is one of multiple businesses to start up out of BCIC and the eBridge Center.
“We've had to create our own ecosystem of entrepreneurship focused on tech and manufacturing and health care in order to keep our top talent,” Nathan Burkhart, vice president of the entrepreneurship and innovation at the BCIC, said.
Burkhart credits the programs and resources offered through eBridge with helping entrepreneurs bring their ideas to fruition.
According to Secure Data Recovery, a data recovery company out of California, Brownsville ranks second on their top 10 list of emerging tech hubs.
Brownsville was also ranked first for employee growth rate. Brownsville has added 900 jobs to the tech industry since 2019.
“It’s really validating for all the work we've been doing, but it's also this national trend,” Burkhart said. “You're seeing tech companies leave these larger hubs and move to midsize cities and communities like ours.”
The survey also shows that in over a five-year period, there was a 54% increase in the number of tech companies that set up shop in Brownsville.
To get the results, Secure Data Recovery analyzed employment and wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor for tech industries in small and medium U.S. hub-politan areas.
Burkhart says the Port of Brownsville and SpaceX is helping to contribute to the growing workforce.
The Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation offers funding and mentorship for start up companies. More information is available online.
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