By VICKI BROWN
SmartUp Lowcountry is a program out of UNC-Chapel Hill’s NCGrowth-SmartUp, and is designed to help Lowcountry businesses expand and create jobs and improve rural economies.
The NCGrowth-SmartUp economic development center has been providing assistance to businesses throughout rural communities for a decade. The center was awarded a $149,947 grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development to support rural businesses and communities in the Lowcountry negatively impacted by the pandemic or the Colleton and Hampton County tornadoes of Spring 2020.
The program chooses growing companies in small communities like Walterboro and Hampton to provide a wide range of consulting services for those businesses, and hosts networking events and workshops to strengthen the entire business community. The goals are to connect rural businesses to high quality technical assistance, and help change struggling communities because many rural areas throughout the Lowcountry have been economically stagnate for decades. Job creation and promoting economic development is the primary focus of SmartUp.
“By supporting the growth of small rural businesses, we help create good jobs in places that need those jobs the most,” said Kellye Whitaker, SmartUp program manager.
A resident of Walterboro and community advocate, Whitaker is responsible for all work in the Lowcountry. She works closely with regional partners to offer assistance to accelerate the growth of companies in the region.
“There is an abundance of opportunity in the Lowcountry to work with ambitious and driven business owners and add immeasurable value to help them grow their businesses,” said Whitaker. Whitaker has taken her 25 years of marketing experience and used it to help support several small businesses throughout local rural communities. Some of those businesses are: SS Hamilton Tree Farm (Green Pond); Sweetgrass Roots Learning Farm (Walterboro); Tucker Adult Day Care (Walterboro); Bowman Vineyard and Farms (Round O); Peculiar Pig Farm (Dorchester County); and Freedom Air Heating and Air Conditioning (Hampton).
The assistance these businesses have received has primarily been marketing ideas, strategic operating practices, planning, and advice on growing.
While these businesses have proven to be a good start, Whitaker is looking for more men and women she can help. For more information, contact Kellye Whitaker at kellye_whitaker@unc.edu or call 404-246-5740.
