New Entrepreneurial Tech Hub Coming to Downtown Jackson
Downtown Jackson, MS is getting put on the tech innovation map. Twelve acres and seven buildings near Jackson State University are currently in development to create a $25 million tech hub for Mississippi entrepreneurs. The land was purchased by Dr. Nashlie Sephus, CEO of The Bean Path and a Jackson native, who aims to help underserved communities reach their full potential in STEM.
The five-year development plan includes transforming abandoned buildings into an electronics lab, photography studio, and maker’s space along with additional plans for an innovation center, apartments, grocery store, and more. Sephus says the goal is to create a community tech hub where people can live, work, eat, and play.
It’s up to Jacksonians like her and the rest of the area to make something out of their hometown, Sephus says. It’s not just important for now but also for future generations.
The idea for a new hub
The idea for the new Mississippi tech hub came to Sephus while she was looking for office space for Bean Path, a non-profit organization dedicated to growing networks and communities in the local area. Founded in 2018, the organization provides technical guidance and advice to small businesses and entrepreneurs. The abandoned buildings and acres purchased for the development project used to be a hot spot for black-owned Mississippi businesses. The new tech hub, Sephus says, will be a way for her to give back to the community that helped shape her and her career. This will hopefully be a way to get people excited about technology, she says, and improve accessibility.
Sephus herself is a former Chief Technology Officer for Partpic, an Atlanta-based visual recognition technology company. According to CNBC, Partpic was acquired by Amazon in May 2016 after a representative saw Sephus presenting at a deep learning conference. Sephus later became the Applied Science manager for Amazon Artificial Intelligence and has led the Amazon Visual Search team in Atlanta.
What this means for Mississippi
Tech hubs are a great way to build communities because they provide a space for entrepreneurs and start-up companies to come together and innovate. Tech hubs are known for encouraging and educating new talent in areas with high business growth. Tech hubs also open doors for new job opportunities such as game development, web design, web development, asset management, and more.
According to Bloomberg, tech hubs are actually a key way to help lift a town or city out of poverty. Tech developments can not only create new jobs but can also increase wages for those in the community. Even those who don’t work directly in the technology field can benefit from the development of tech hubs. For instance, manufacturing workers operating roller conveyors may see increased wages, too, due to an increase in demand for their job roles as tech companies produce new products.
Of course, cities need more than just a tech hub to boost wealth in the area. Underserved areas also need targeted support and skills training. Fortunately, Sephus and The Bean Path aim to provide just that for the Jackson area.
