NEW ORLEANS - Small businesses can play a large role in the economic renewal taking place in the Gulf Coast region, according to speakers at a recent conference in New Orleans. The conference, titled "Entrepreneurship: The Foundation for Economic Renewal in the Gulf Coast Region," was co-sponsored by the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Office of Advocacy, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Public Forum Institute, and the Urban Entrepreneur Partnership Gulf Coast (UEPGC). The conference proceedings were released in conjunction with the opening of the New Orleans office of the UEPGC, the first of three in the Gulf Coast region.

Participants in the conference came from small and large businesses; think tanks and universities; business organizations and trade associations; financial institutions; nonprofits; and federal, state, and local government. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) noted that footnotes to the conference transcript include the Websites of more than 100 organizations with initiatives relevant to the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort. To view the conference proceedings, go to www.sba.gov/advo/research/proceedings06.pdf.

"This conference brought together the best entrepreneurial thinkers and doers from across the region and the United States," said Dr. Chad Moutray, chief economist for the SBA's Office of Advocacy. "They were united on one major point; entrepreneurs will play a key role in rebuilding the Gulf Coast region."