The Greater Memphis Chamber is looking ahead, and it envisions a bright future. At its Mid-Year Chairman’s Forum Monday, the organization unveiled Prosper 2030, a strategic growth plan that aims to make the Memphis region more prosperous and inclusive.
The plan looks to leverage Memphis’ status as one of the largest minority-majority cities in the country to attract businesses that place an emphasis on diversity in their workforces. Specifically, Prosper 2030 will promote the city’s diversity and upskill its workforce to attract high-growth advanced industries like automotive or medical device manufacturing, which rely on workers with talents in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
“Equity is at the very center of this plan to create a more prosperous, more inclusive Memphis,” said Ted Townsend, chief economic development officer of the Greater Memphis Chamber. “As last year showed, we’re already in the economic development playoffs, but we want the championships. By the end of 2030, we want to be able to point at our regional scoreboard and do the Ja Morant victory dance.”
The Chamber is centering its plan around three key priorities.
Inclusive jobs: A prosperous Memphis is an inclusive Memphis. Goal: Create 50,000 high-quality jobs, with half of those jobs going to minorities.
Diverse industries: A healthy economy has a healthy mix of businesses. The Chamber plans to add to the goal: Add 700 new firms in advanced industries.
Future-ready talent: 20,000 STEM graduates per year, with 45 percent of those degrees going to Black students.
Currently, per the Chamber, Memphis is working on a total of 55 economic development recruitment projects, which represent almost 15,000 new jobs with salaries averaging more than $58,000, and capital investments of more than $10.6 billion. And 80 percent of those projects are in advanced manufacturing.
