MOBILE, Ala. — Innovate Alabama held a ceremony at Innovation Portal in Mobile on Wednesday, Aug. 5, recognizing 10 organizations, municipalities and institutions from across the South Alabama region.
Innovate Alabama is the state’s first statewide public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology and innovation, providing Alabama entrepreneurs with resources to help them grow. Innovate Alabama CEO Cynthia Crutchfield said Wednesday’s event centered on celebrating entrepreneurship and the state’s broader innovation ecosystem, recognizing the work being done to advance technology and entrepreneurship statewide.
Groups honored from Baldwin and Mobile counties included the Baldwin County Community and Economic Development Foundation, the City of Daphne, the City of Mobile, Clarity, the Eastern Shore Chamber Foundation, Innovation Portal, the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Mobile County, United Way of Southwest Alabama and the University of South Alabama.
The ceremony was part of Innovate Alabama’s statewide convening series, “Connecting Alabama: Igniting Innovation,” which spotlights organizations and partnerships advancing innovation and economic development through regionally tailored approaches.
“I think those communities are really the backbone of the state and the organizations that are really making the mission happen,” Crutchfield said. “They’re living the mission day to day. We are simply enablers that give them the tool to do that, but really they’re the ones that are empowered to do the work, so those relationships are really important, and it’s really important that they’re leaning in and embracing the three pillars that we focus on: access to capital, talent attraction and retention and outdoor recreation.”
State Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, attended the ceremony and said regional progress depends on collaboration across county lines. “We have a strong foundation of talent, of education and workforce opportunities, of civic and business leadership, of industry and tourism,” Simpson said. “Today is about strengthening those connections among those assets. I’m proud to have worked alongside my colleagues in the legislature to support policies that encourage growth, investment and opportunity across our entire region.”