San Bernardino joins Sunstone Economic Development Challenge

The city of San Bernardino has joined four other Southern California cities as partners in the second annual Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price, a charitable program designed to help local governments develop and implement inclusive strategies to support and grow early-stage technology startups and high-tech jobs in their communities.

Student competitors will form teams with local government clients and then work together to create strategies that are forward-looking as well as economically and practically feasible for local governments to attract and support early-stage startup businesses, raise private capital, and create jobs in their communities. Students will participate in educational and feedback sessions with mentors and present their final projects to a panel with expertise ranging from marketing, economic analysis, and capital access.

A chance to work with students and improve the community convinced San Bernardino to participate, according to Amanda Hernandez, Economic Development Division Manager.

“The City of San Bernardino is honored to be chosen as a participating city for the Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price,” she said. “We look forward to working with the next generation of leaders and innovators to serve as a catalyst for our community’s growth and create an ecosystem for startups to flourish in San Bernardino.”

Teams will be formed and work started later this fall. The teams’ pitches will be presented to a panel of judges at the USC City/County Management Fellowship (CMF) Summit & Sunstone Challenge Final Pitch in April 2024 where the winning team will receive $5,000.

For details about the program, visit the Challenge website or email Ryan Phong at [email protected].