2 West Tenn. communities to receive entrepreneur grants

SAVANNAH, Tenn. — Six cities across the state of Tennessee were awarded with $50,000 grants. Two of those are right in the heart of West Tennessee.

“We want to get some really neat things that are going to catch people’s attention and help spur creativity in business,” said Seth Sumner with the city of Savannah.

The city of Savannah said they’re excited for the opportunity to help small business owners with the grant awarded by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

“We’re getting to pick and choose those pieces that we believe will work for Savannah, especially getting out to our small, rural communities,” Sumner said.

The city of Jackson also received one of those grants. They’ll be able to create three new retail storefronts for entrepreneurs. To do this, they’ll be utilizing re-purposed shipping containers, partnering with the University of Memphis Lambuth Campus and TheCO.

The city of Savannah said these two-year grants are reimbursable, meaning they’ll get back the money they spend in these efforts up to $50,000.