By Matthew Cavazos

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – AUG. 15, 2024 – UTRGV and the Pharr Economic Development Corporation (EDC) have officially opened the doors of the Pharr Global Business Hub, designed to help bring in new businesses and strengthen current businesses in the Rio Grande Valley.

This facility, a project four years in the making, will have an impact on the city and the performance of the EDC by prioritizing the creation and expansion of businesses and jobs in the city, and key trainings.

Dr. Magdalena Hinojosa, UTRGV senior vice president for Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs, addressed the importance of the partnership between the university and the city of Pharr.

“This facility allows us to expand the resources and economic workforce development support services, and it will advance our region’s economic development and community engagement,” she said. “The project is going to help recruit new businesses and job opportunities to the city.” 

The Pharr Global Business Hub, located at 301 S. Cage Boulevard, is the fifth Innovation Hub to open as a satellite office in the Valley. UTRGV previously has unveiled:

• The Center for Education and Economic Development in Mission.
• The Center for Innovation & Commercialization in Weslaco.
• The eBridge in Brownsville.
• And the Harlingen EDC Entrepreneurship Hub in Harlingen.

“It really didn’t make much sense to be in our own offices on campus, where people had to come to us,” said Ron Garza, UTRGV associate vice president for Workforce and Economic Development. “We want to be accessible. We want to be as inclusive as possible. And we want to create awareness that these programs exist.”

Full-time employees at the Pharr Global Business Hub will provide a range of resources in the following areas: Apex Acceleration, Data and Information Systems, Entrepreneurship, Professional Education and Workforce Development Center, Small Business Development and Veterans Business Outreach. 

The first initiative to launch at the Pharr Global Business Hub will be the signature Kauffman FastTrac program, which provides a face-to-face collaborative environment in which to engage directly with expert facilitators and fellow entrepreneurs.

Joaquin Spammer, founder and president of Commodities Integrated Logistics, very simply defined his own experience with UTRGV’s Office of Workforce and Development.

“This works,” he said.

“Back in the 90s, I had a small business with 20,000 square feet, and we were going nowhere. Therefore, I needed to make a change,” he said. “So, we went and bought a 200,000-square-foot building, and the first thought I had was to go back to UTRGV.” 

Spammer, a UTRGV graduate, returned to the university’s Office of Workforce Development, where they helped him put together a progress report for his company that included the financials, demographics and many additional insights for his business. He credits UTRGV’s support with “making confidence like mine grow.” 

UTRGV’s Office of Workforce and Development next strategic partnership with a Valley community will be in Edinburg, slated for 2025. It will be the university’s sixth Innovation Hub. 

The Pharr Global Business Hub is located at 301 S. Cage Boulevard and is the fifth Innovation Hub, in partnership with UTRGV, to open as a satellite office in the Valley. The facility officially opened on Thursday. (UTRGV Photo by Paul Chouy)