Jacobs Center President & CEO Reginald Jones and San Diego City Mayor Kevin Faulconer shake hands at CAJC grand opening. 

On Monday, May 20, CONNECT ALL @ the Jacobs Center (CAJC) officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Mayor Kevin Faulconer, City Councilmember Monica Montgomery and Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation President and CEO Reginald Jones announced the strategic partnership between the City of San Diego, Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and CONNECT.

CAJC is San Diego’s first business accelerator exclusively geared for low to moderate income and diverse founders. Located in the Joe and Vi Jacobs Center, CAJC nurtures early-stage, growth-driven startups and supports the entrepreneur community with resources that encourage growth and creation of new businesses. All components of the program are free to participants, with no equity stake required.

Out of 66 applicants, CAJC selected 13 startup businesses, with 20 founders, to participate in the first class.  Participants have retail, technology, food, and health and beauty businesses, and come from various ethnic backgrounds, including African-American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic and Pacific Islander. All are committed to hiring low-to-moderate income San Diego residents. The Jacobs Center also provides a no-cost Business Resource Center for entrepreneurs at all levels outside the program.

Learn more about CAJC via the press release, The San Diego Union-Tribune, ABC 10 News and Times of San Diego.

View photos from the grand opening on Flickr.