Growing Rural Entrepreneurship Unlocks Regional Resilience

Rural entrepreneurs keep our economies alive with grit, generosity, and a deeply local kind of innovation. When global opportunity rolls into town, they deserve more than a wave from the main stage – they deserve a pathway in.

Right now, all eyes are on the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ — a once-in-a-generation spotlight that’ll shine on a few select cities across the U.S. For Kansas City, it’s huge. But it’s also just the beginning. In the next 10 years, we’re looking at a stacked lineup: the Summer Olympics in LA, another Women’s World Cup on U.S. soil, more international sports and culture events than ever before.

These moments are economic engines. They draw billions in spending, elevate brands, shape infrastructure. They also tend to reward the already-powerful – big cities, big orgs, big money.

But what about rural communities?

What about the makers, founders, creators, and main street leaders who’ve been solving local problems with grit and heart – often without access to the networks, capital, or visibility that these events unlock?

If we’re serious about building a resilient, equitable economy, then we have to start looking at events like the World Cup not just as sports spectacles, but as economic accelerators for our entire region.

And that means putting rural entrepreneurs on the map.

Here’s what that looks like:

• Training and Readiness: Helping small-town business owners understand what’s coming and how to plug in. Vendor readiness, procurement know-how, digital storefronts, pitch practice. We can’t expect folks to seize an opportunity they were never told existed.
• Pop-Up to Permanent Pathways: Creating activations outside the urban core. Not every fan or family is staying downtown – why not route the celebration through towns with charm, talent, and tenacity?
• Content, Commerce, and Connection: Whether it’s artisan goods, food trucks, service providers, or tech talent – rural businesses have something real to offer. Let’s make sure the platforms, directories, and discovery tools don’t skip them.

The truth? These regions aren’t lacking innovation. They’re just often left out of the spotlight – and the funding.

That’s why we’re building systems to change that.

At Glinda, we’re pairing high-energy community activations with innovation support. We’re not just planning World Cup fan festivals – we’re hosting workshops, creating curriculum, and standing up incubators to help rural and small business entrepreneurs prepare for what’s coming.

When we widen the circle, everyone wins – fans get richer experiences, brands connect more deeply, and communities grow stronger, together.

If we do this right, the World Cup won’t be a one-time event for our region. 

It’ll be a spark. And rural entrepreneurs? They’ll be ready to catch it.