Case Study: Crisp Small Business Resource Center advances rural ecosystem mapping with EcoMap Discover

CrispSmall Business Resource Center maps 100+ ecosystem assets with EcoMap Discover

The Crisp Small Business Resource Center at East Carolina University supports small businesses across 29 rural counties in eastern North Carolina. Their challenge was that while resources for entrepreneurs existed, they were disconnected, difficult to find, and unevenly distributed across the vast region. To address this, they partnered with EcoMap Technologies to build a digital platform using the EcoMap Discover service.

EcoMap provided the digital infrastructure to power the ENCompass platform, which serves as a living, community-validated map of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This solution supports the center's research-backed ERC framework, allowing them to track assets, visualize gaps, and share critical information with partners and funders. As a result, the platform has grown from an initial 100 assets to become the foundational tool for expanding their ecosystem-building work across the state, securing further grant funding and establishing a sustainable model for rural economic development.

CrispSmall Business Resource Center