BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The eBridge Center for Business and Commercialization officially opened its doors in Brownsville. 

“Understanding the market, the understanding of how to build together like a business plan,” said Eduardo Cerda, the business development manager for Future SQC, an international software company. 

He said the opening of the new eBridge Center is a huge help for entrepreneurs like him.  

“We’re excited to finally open our eBridge center to the community,” said President and CEO of Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation (BCIC), Cori Peña.

She said the new center is a resource for everyone across the Rio Grande Valley. 

“The purpose of eBridge center is to allow our entrepreneurs, small business, and our legacy businesses go to one-stop place to get the programs and resources it is so they can scale, they can start their ideas and they can stimulate job growth,” Peña said.

The new 36-thousand-square-foot startup incubator is located at the historic Casa de Nylon building in downtown Brownsville. 

Peña said the project is five years of planning and hard work along with partners including the UTRGV and support from the city of Brownsville.

“Working together functionally, operationally, to foster local economic development it’s something really vital to the local economy,” said Ron Garza, the Associate Vice President of Workforce and Development at UTRGV.

The center is equipped with office space, conference rooms, and several resources for all types of businesses from the food industry to manufacturing. 

“Anything from filing a patent, we actually have a USPTO resource center here as well. We also have a manufacturing assistance center. So, if somebody has an assembly line that they need kind of fine-tune or they need to find the best way to save money or costs on that. Every little component or facet can be assisted within this center, said Nathan Burkhart, the Director of Business Development for BCIC.

He said after several setbacks like the pandemic and supply chain issues, they are happy to be fully operating for the community. 

“They have a vision we can help them get it down to paper and actually get it to where it’s an actual business venture,” said Peña.

“You should have to come to understand, it’s a lot of tools right here,” said Cerda.

Some of the services at the eBridge Center are free for clients, while others are supported through membership.