Kansas has launched ConnectKS, an AI-powered platform designed to connect small businesses with state resources, funding opportunities, and support organizations. The initiative addresses a critical need in a state where over 99% of businesses are small enterprises, offering 24/7 access to information that was previously only available through direct government contact during business hours.
What you should know: The Kansas Small Business Office partnered with EcoMap Technologies to create a centralized digital ecosystem that helps entrepreneurs navigate state resources and build connections.
- ConnectKS launched this summer as one of the first offerings from the Kansas Small Business Office, which was established on June 11 as a division of the Kansas Department of Commerce.
- The platform leverages AI to manage data and identify industry organizations and resources within the state, categorizing them for easy user access.
- “We think AI and automation helps to expedite the collection, organization and freshness of that information, so it’s a really critical resource,” said Sherrod Davis, CEO of EcoMap Technologies.
Why this matters: The platform transforms how both businesses access information and how state employees respond to their requests, moving from a reactive to a proactive approach.
- Previously, business owners relied on direct communication with state officials to answer questions, creating bottlenecks during traditional office hours.
- “I always say that entrepreneurs have a 3 a.m. problem,” explained Taylor Eubanks, director of the Small Business Office, referring to how business challenges don’t follow government operating schedules.
- State employees can now direct business owners to the centralized tool, allowing staff to handle more targeted questions.
How it works: The AI technology serves as the backbone for organizing and maintaining current information about Kansas’s business support ecosystem.
- AI helps identify and categorize industry organizations, resources, and funding opportunities across the state.
- The system maintains fresh, up-to-date information that entrepreneurs can access anytime they need it.
- EcoMap’s approach focuses on “ecosystem mapping” to ensure all stakeholders “read from the same sheet of music” and can collaborate effectively.
Additional tools: Kansas is expanding the platform’s capabilities with complementary resources and upcoming features.
- The Nonprofit Intelligence Dashboard works alongside ConnectKS to build connections within the state’s business ecosystem, focusing on entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs).
- A new AI-powered loan readiness assessment tool is being developed in partnership with Cyphr, a Kansas-based company, expected to launch by year’s end.
- The upcoming tool will assess loan seekers and direct them to relevant events or organizations, while also helping them “AI-generate or update their business plan,” according to Eubanks.
The big picture: Kansas’s approach represents a broader trend of state governments using AI to support small business development and economic growth.
- The initiative aims to ensure entrepreneurs don’t miss funding opportunities by creating space for organizations to prioritize their own development.
- EcoMap Technologies positions itself as a company that exists “to power local economies” at both local and state levels through technology-enabled ecosystem mapping.
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