As the economy continues to spiral down, the White House has decided to team up with various technology companies to help in its job creation program.
Recently, President Obama met with three of the country’s biggest technology companies—IBM, Intel Corp., and Hewlett-Packard Co. The companies?agree to commit?hundreds of millions of dollars to an initiative backed by?Obama to encourage job creation and economic growth by supporting small businesses.
Called the Startup America Partnership, the new program will not only help entrepreneurs start businesses but help them develop their new companies as well.
Intel Corporation promised $200 million, IBM Corporation is investing $150 million and Hewlett-Packard is also participating, but would not disclose if it was committing funds to the partnership.
“We are living in the “Global Digital Economy Age”, notes technology expert Warren Holyfield, CEO of A-Advantage Networking, INC. “As a result, the present consumer, globally, is a digitally-educated one.?In order to drive the economy, it is imperative to use digital innovation as the catalyst to both inject and spur the current model for doing business today. This technology curve while underway is far from its potential.”
According to a press statement by IBM, its funds will be used in part to help mentor start-up companies, support software developers and expand mentorship programs.
But will the program actally create jobs? Time will tell, says tech expe. “It is non-optional as a tool to create economic development, job creation, and training,” Holyfield points out. “It carries an immediate return to business as well as consumers, creating central communications for linking goods with services, people with products and education with job creation.”
Startup America is an independent private-sector alliance, working with the White House. It is chaired by Revolution LLC CEO and AOL Inc. co-founder Steve Case. Case?s Case Foundation along with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation provided launch funding for the partnership.
