About Us
History
The Greater West Dayton Incubator (GWDI) was conceived at the intersections of the University of Dayton’s (UD) most recent strategic visioning process and intentional conversations with Greater West Dayton community leaders. These UD-Greater West Dayton dialogues are intended to be mutually beneficial and to mitigate power imbalances between the city’s predominantly Black neighborhoods and UD.
The GWDI is the first tangible outcome of these dialogues and represents a reciprocal relationship that can benefit all stakeholders equitably. This includes serving as a catalyst for generational wealth creation and inclusive economies in Greater West Dayton, while enhancing experiential learning opportunities that prepare students for a diverse and competitive 21st Century workforce and society. This strategic initiative is also part of UD’s 11 steps to become an anti-racist institution which includes supporting entrepreneurial ventures capacity to start, scale, and sustain.
Further, the GWDI is a collective impact partnership with The Entrepreneurs’ Center (EC) in Dayton and the incubator works in conjunction with the services, programs, and offerings provided through The Hub at The Arcade powered by PNC Bank. The Hub is a joint-venture between UD and EC that is located at the historic Downtown Dayton Arcade. The GWDI and The Hub will also leverage synergistic partnerships and collaborations with other entrepreneurs, community stakeholders, and ecosystem partners. These investments are intended to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion for underrepresented, under-resourced, and under-served entrepreneurs in the Greater Dayton startup community.
Our Mission
Our mission is to leverage students and collective impact partnerships to close opportunity and access gaps for diverse entrepreneurs through culturally-relevant education, experiences, and exposure.
Vision & Values
We strive to serve as a catalyst for a startup community and entrepreneurial ecosystem — where success is not defined by zip codes and/or backgroun
Anti-Racism: a transformative process or set of measures that reorients philosophies, practices, and policies to produce and/or sustain racial equity.
Inclusive Excellence: advocates that diversity, equity, and inclusion are fundamental to excellence and this requires a comprehensive, cohesive, and collaborative alignment of infrastructure, resources, and actions.
Social Justice: the work to eliminate historic and systematic oppression to build systems and cultures of human dignity — where access and opportunities create conditions for people and communities to realize their full potential.