American Savings Bank supports entrepreneurship center

American Savings Bank, one of Hawaiʻi’s leading financial institutions, donated $30,000 to become the title sponsor of the 2013 UH Business Plan Competition organized by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business.

“Hawaiʻi needs a vibrant spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in our business sector” said Rich Wacker, president and CEO of American Savings Bank. “We support the efforts of PACE and the Shidler College to promote those values, and we are glad to have the opportunity to encourage new ideas and new business models.”

Established in 2000, PACE is home to an integrated set of leading-edge entrepreneurship programs. The UH Business Plan Competition is an intense, experiential program that provides mentorship, training and resources to UH students who seek to start a business venture. The program encourages interdisciplinary collaboration to create a network of entrepreneurial-focused individuals across campuses. This cross-collaboration spurs the commercialization of technologies that are born at UH, which can lead to economic development opportunities for Hawaiʻi.

“We are excited to have American as our partner to support budding entrepreneurs,” said Susan Yamada, PACE executive director. “The Business Plan Competition creates new companies each year by encouraging students with business ideas to move them from concept to action and implementation and gets business leaders involved as coaches to build a support network for entrepreneurship that includes entrepreneurs, seasoned managers, professionals and investors.”

—Adapted from a UH Mānoa news release

Tags: Shidler College of Business, UH Manoa

Category: Academic News