City partners with Amazon Web Services to offer workshops to Baltimore entrepreneurs

Baltimore city government is working with an Amazon Web Services program that’s designed to provide resources to entrepreneurs who are in turn working on ventures that can help the city.

According to a blog post, the AWS CloudStart program held a series of three workshops in Baltimore that provided training on cloud computing. In all, 40 entrepreneurs were selected to participate in the program. They’re working in areas including public health and financial wellness, as well as with government and education customers, according to AWS.

The City of Baltimore uses AWS CloudStart to innovate for residents with the cloud. https://t.co/AgcWvh7oUu pic.twitter.com/QqYHlNXV8f

— AWS for Government (@AWS_Gov) January 18, 2019

The aim of the program is to help business owners harness the cloud computing resource. Participants also get access to a portal that provides additional resources and technical advice. One example, per AWS, came from Natasha’s Just Brittle. Founder Natasha Wainwright offers a shared-use facility for food businesses, and came up with an idea to use AWS to improve scheduling.

CloudStart works with economic development organizations, and in Baltimore it partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Small, Minority and Women Business Development and the Emerging Technology Centers (ETC). ETC President Deb Tillett said AWS can help startups in ETC’s AccelerateBaltimore cohort, as well as tech companies working in health and public safety. In its role as a convener of the tech community, Tillett said ETC brought tech companies together.

Leaders also said product manufacturers who participate in Made in Baltimore and “Main Street” small businesses can benefit, according to AWS.

“AWS Cloud computing has many adaptable uses in the public sector, and we look forward to exploring and mobilizing how we use these tools to help entrepreneurs and residents access opportunities and resources in Baltimore,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said in a statement.

The program shows a role for the city government in providing access to resources for entrepreneurs. Facebook also came to the city last year to offer digital marketing training for small businesses.