Quick Takeaways:

• Lack of affordable housing is directly impacting workforce retention, recruitment and economic vibrancy.
• Entrepreneurship is a powerful and often underleveraged tool for inclusive growth and community revitalization.
• Regional collaboration across sectors is essential to solving these deeply interconnected challenges.
• National thought leaders Egbert L.J. Perry and Kevin Smith will share real solutions and replicable models at theOpportunity Summit on June 11.
• Business leaders don’t need to work in housing or small business to drive impact. Engagement is the first step.

Charleston’s business community is thriving but not without friction. Behind the region’s growth are mounting challenges: workers who can’t afford to live where they work, entrepreneurs facing barriers to starting or scaling businesses and communities striving to balance growth with long-term affordability and access.

These aren’t just policy issues. They are business issues which are already shaping the future of workforce development, talent recruitment and long-term economic sustainability in our region.

At the heart of this complexity are two interconnected forces: housing and entrepreneurship. Understanding how they overlap might just hold the key to unlocking greater economic opportunity for residents across the region.

The Cost of Displacement: Why Housing Affordability Matters to Every Business

In recent years, a growing number of employees in the Charleston region have been priced out of proximity to their jobs. Commutes have lengthened. Job candidates are turning down offers or leaving the area altogether. Young, skilled talent is hesitating to plant roots in a place where affordable housing is increasingly out of reach.

This trend doesn’t only affect entry-level workers. It touches teachers, nurses, hospitality professionals and more, those who form the backbone of our region’s service economy, innovation sector and civic fabric.

Affordable housing is not a standalone issue. It’s a pressure point that, when left unaddressed, ripples into productivity, employee morale, transportation demand and the long-term health of our local businesses.

This is where voices like Egbert L.J. Perry, Chairman of Integral, bring vision and proven frameworks. Based in Atlanta, Integral has become a national model for how public-private partnerships can drive mixed-income, mixed-use developments that don’t displace existing residents but instead lift the entire neighborhood.

Perry’s work shows that it is possible to attract capital investment, increase housing supply and still preserve a community’s character and stability. It just takes intentional design, bold partnerships and a commitment to equity.

Learn more about Integral’s approach

Entrepreneurship as an Engine of Mobility

Entrepreneurship often gets celebrated for its innovation, but its power as a tool for economic mobility is just as important.

Kevin Smith, CEO of Community Ventures in Lexington, Kentucky, leads an organization that has embraced this philosophy. By offering affordable business loans, financial coaching and support hubs for underserved entrepreneurs, Community Ventures has helped thousands of people turn ideas into sustainable businesses.

The results speak volumes:

• Over 6,000 jobs created
• More than $110 million in loans deployed
• A revitalized rural campus (Mustard Seed Hill) that combines historic preservation, retail, business incubation and tourism

The big idea: when communities invest in entrepreneurs, especially those historically excluded from traditional capital and networks, they generate local wealth, local ownership and long-term stability.

In Charleston, we’re poised to do the same. Our region ranks just below innovation hubs like Austin and Provost in entrepreneurs per capita, a signal that the raw potential is here. But potential alone isn’t enough.

To truly capitalize, we need to ensure the playing field is accessible, especially for early-stage founders and innovators. That takes partnership, policy and a shared vision of what inclusive economic growth looks like.

Read more about Community Ventures

The Opportunity Before Us

The intersection of housing and entrepreneurship may not seem obvious at first. But both are about who gets to belong, contribute and thrive in a community.

When someone can afford to live near their job, they’re more reliable, more engaged and more likely to invest back into the region. When someone launches a business, they often create opportunities not just for themselves, but for their neighbors.

Both are pathways to economic mobility. Both are deeply tied to the health of our regional economy and neither will improve without cross-sector collaboration.

On June 11, the Charleston Metro Chamber’s Opportunity Summit will bring together voices from across the business, nonprofit and public sectors to dig into these issues, not just to talk, but to spark action.

You’ll hear from Perry and Smith, along with local panels unpacking housing data, small business challenges and strategies that actually move the needle. You’ll connect with leaders across industries who, like you, want to be part of the solution.

What Can You Do?

You don’t need to work in housing or run a startup to make a difference.

You can attend the Opportunity Summit to learn and engage with others who understand the importance of addressing these opportunities. Attendees can have the opportunity to:

• Advocate for housing investments that strengthen workforce reliability.
• Partner with small business organizations to support new entrepreneurs.
• Support policies that balance economic growth with affordability.
• Connect with organizations working on inclusive community projects.

Solving our region’s biggest challenges will take more than siloed efforts. It will take aligned strategies and action among businesses, community organizations, investors, entrepreneurs, residents and governments.

That’s what the Opportunity Summit is about.

Join us June 11. Let’s build what’s next for our region, together.

To learn more and register, visit charlestonchamber.org/opportunitysummit.