AI Pocket Mentor (Indiana Community Collaboration Fund Grant)

AI Pocket Mentor (Indiana Community Collaboration Fund Grant) is sponsored by State of Indiana (via University of Notre Dame's McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business). This grant funds the development of the AI Pocket Mentor, a digital business coach platform designed specifically for microentrepreneurs in northwest Indiana, providing personalized guidance on various business aspects.

McKenna Center receives state grant to develop AI business coaching platform Notre Dame students consult with local entrepreneurs as part of the McKenna Center’s South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program. The program helps people facing hardships, providing guidance so they can start and grow their own businesses.

The University of Notre Dame's McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business , part of the Keough School of Global Affairs , has received a $39,956 grant from the State of Indiana to expand its support for low-income and disadvantaged entrepreneurs through a new artificial intelligence-powered business coaching platform.

Awarded through Indiana's Community Collaboration Fund, the grant will fund the development of the AI Pocket Mentor, a digital business coach platform designed specifically for microentrepreneurs in northwest Indiana. Available 24 hours a day and accessible by smartphone, the platform will provide personalized guidance on competitor analysis, pricing, supplier sourcing, marketing, hiring and business compliance.

Built to adapt to varying literacy levels, it will retain interaction history, allowing it to serve as an ongoing business coach rather than a one-time resource. The AI Pocket Mentor builds on the work of the McKenna Center's Urban Poverty and Business Initiative (UPBI), which equips entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge and support to overcome barriers to starting and growing successful businesses.

Since its founding, UPBI has expanded to 59 cities, with more than 11,000 entrepreneurs having completed the program, more than 4,000 businesses launched and 4,500 jobs created. "Too many aspiring entrepreneurs lack access to the kind of business guidance that can make the difference between struggling and succeeding," said Michael H. Morris , professor of the practice and founder of UPBI.

"The AI Pocket Mentor puts practical, personalized coaching in entrepreneurs' hands whenever they need it. It extends our mission of helping people use entrepreneurship as a pathway to greater economic opportunity and long-term stability." The AI Pocket Mentor will complement UPBI's in-person coaching and entrepreneurship training by providing structured guidance between meetings and outside traditional business hours.

By reinforcing UPBI's proven 80-Step Journey to Sustainable Success framework, the platform will help entrepreneurs make informed decisions, strengthen their businesses and build a more secure economic future.

The project is one of 22 initiatives selected for funding through Indiana's Community Collaboration Fund , which supports community-led projects that strengthen entrepreneurship and accelerate small business growth across the state. "Making Indiana the very best place to start, build and grow a business is a driving force of my administration,” said Indiana Governor Mike Braun.

“These grants will support programs identified by communities as critical to the growth and success of their entrepreneurial and small business economies, supporting long-term job creation and wage growth. Thanks to the commitment and creativity of our regions, these programs will help founders and leaders bring new ideas to life, implement new technologies and future-proof their businesses.

” Media Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd. edu