Regional Research · Prepared for Founder's Table Network
El Paso is building an economy on the strength of two countries meeting at one border. That's a lot of energy, a lot of connection, and a lot of Gospel opportunity — the question is whether your church is positioned to meet it.
The boom, in brief
Every Wednesday morning, before most churches have even opened their doors, El Paso's entrepreneurs gather for 1 Million Cups — trading ideas over coffee in one of the fastest-growing gathering formats in the country. A few minutes away, Pioneers 21 and the Hub of Human Innovation have spent over a decade quietly turning first-time founders into functioning businesses in Downtown El Paso.
Add in the Cardwell Collaborative — a $28 million research park at the Medical Center of the Americas with wet labs and dry labs most cities can't offer — a bi-national accelerator built for founders working across the Juárez border, and the annual El Paso Strong Hackathon drawing developers and community leaders into one weekend, and El Paso's mix becomes clear: a border city building an economy nobody has to leave home to be part of.
Where the energy lives
The incubators, funds, and development groups that make up El Paso's entrepreneurial infrastructure.
One of El Paso's longest-running business incubators, based in Downtown El Paso since 2011 — mentorship, accelerators, and boot camps for early-stage founders.
A nonprofit incubator in Downtown El Paso offering low-cost workspace, mentoring, workshops, and access to capital, grown out of a UTEP business incubator.
Leads a 440-acre medical and biotech campus in south-central El Paso, anchored by the Cardwell Collaborative — a $28 million, 60,000-square-foot tech park with wet labs, dry labs, and biomedical incubator space.
A bi-national startup accelerator and business incubator serving founders on both sides of the El Paso–Juárez border.
Free, bilingual business advising, SBA loan packaging, cross-border business planning, and capital access referrals for El Paso entrepreneurs.
A City of El Paso initiative connecting small business owners to free Economic Development Liaisons and a network of more than 45 Entrepreneurial Support Organizations.
Loans from $5,000 to $50,000 for small businesses and startups who can't access financing through conventional lenders.
A nonprofit lender offering microloans up to $50,000 to startups and growing small businesses.
Loans up to $50,000 at a 2% rate for small businesses operating in El Paso and the Town of Anthony.
A local investment fund that raised $3 million from 37 investors in its inaugural round, backing El Paso-area startups.
A regional economic development organization connecting El Paso's business, government, and investment communities across the Paso del Norte region.
On the calendar
Local entrepreneurs pitch to a room of mentors and advisors every Wednesday morning, trading ideas over coffee in one of the fastest-growing gathering formats in the country.
A free, three-day hackathon organized by Microsoft and Cyborg Mobile, bringing developers and community members together to build solutions for a safer, stronger El Paso.
Money moving
A capital access and loan guarantee program backed by more than $472 million in federal funding, expanding access to credit for Texas small businesses.
$5,000 plus training and support for women-owned Texas small businesses with five or fewer full-time employees, founded within the past five years.
Support for startups and small businesses engaged in research and development, helping early-stage companies bring new technology to market.
The question underneath the data
Entrepreneurial energy has always been a growth engine for the church. Paul's missionary journeys, and the growth of the church in its first hundred years and throughout the age of missions, rode alongside business the whole way.
Empowering entrepreneurial believers — not just business founders, but anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset — is now the single most crucial strategy for reaching communities, planting new churches, and renewing existing ones.
Tim Keller
Nearly 40% of pastors, according to Barna research, want to do something for entrepreneurs in their church. What holds most back isn't conviction — it's not knowing where to start.
What entrepreneurs bring
Earned relationships that open doors a church flyer never could.
Circles of people the church has never met.
A daily foothold in the exact place the city is building its future.
The instinct to build something where nothing exists yet.
What's happening in El Paso also has a big connection to Gen Z and Millennials, and to the Gospel's relevance to their biggest goals. Here's the rub: most entrepreneurs don't think of the church as part of their journey. That's because it hasn't been — their efforts to bring their ideas and innovation into the church have too often been met with rejection and pain. Without a connection to the church, they'll get pulled into grind culture instead, following influencers who aren't taking them toward Jesus, and the isolation that follows will be significant.
We can change this
A church that welcomes them into community — one that understands they're wired for “go,” but that they also want to live an integrated life, talking about their faith and their business with people who understand both are part of the same life. They need to be pastored and discipled with the view that God is preparing them to be marketplace missionaries, and that they can bring an entrepreneurial spirit into the church rather than leaving it at the door.
“My business is teaching me how to be a Christian.”
Erika P., entrepreneur
We believe there are entrepreneurs looking for a church like yours. What you'll discover is that there are more entrepreneurs already connected to the circle of your church's relationships than you ever thought — and that the energy they bring can fuel real growth and momentum in your church.
Two ways to start
Low burden, real growth, fully yours — the work stays with your church.
A kit of tools to help you and other leaders in your church begin the conversation with the entrepreneurs already in your pews.
A grant that funds a kickoff experience and an eight-week study, with every resource your church needs already built in.
Regional Research · El Paso, TX
The energy already exists in El Paso. The only open question is whether your church is positioned to meet it.