Dozens of Greenville-area business leaders gathered at Hotel Hartness March 29 to learn about the Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s Accelerate program’s impact in 2022.
Many of those gathered were shareholders in the chamber’s private-sector-fueled economic-development program, which last year raised more than $890,000 and involved 175 firms actively engaged in the initiative.
The Accelerate initiative is instrumental in supporting the chamber’s goal of increasing Greenville’s per capita income to the national average, chamber President and CEO Carlos Phillips told those gathered at the event.
Specifically, he said the program underwrites work in the four key areas supporting that goal:
- Increasing educational attainment for working-age adults
- Growing the area’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
- Developing the talent and skills needed for a 21st century workforce
- Informing and influencing decisions with data
According to the Accelerate 2022 shareholder report released at the event, Greenville County’s 2021 per capita income was $55,442, 86% of the national average.
In educational attainment, the report shows work toward the 2030 goal of 60% of working-age adults achieving a high-quality, post-secondary credential, certificate or degree had reached almost 50% in 2021.
The report goes on to state the area will need to add about 4,100 credentials, certificates and/or degrees per year to reach the 2030 goal.
For more information about the program and the report, visit greenvillechamber.org/accelerate.
