The Oxford Enterprise Center, located at 9 Industrial Park Dr., serves as a hub for start-up businesses in the Oxford-Lafayette community.

The building is approximately 40,000 square feet and has spaces ranging from 200 to 6000 square feet, which consist of offices, data centers, dry labs, wet labs, and warehouse space.  The building also has a community conference room, breakroom and furnished lobby.  

A key goal of the Oxford Enterprise Center is to produce successful businesses that graduate from the program within one to three years, and either build their own buildings or move into a larger commercial space in the Oxford area. 

The Enterprise Center’s most recent graduate was Nextgear Solutions, a company formed to satisfy the need for technology solutions in the restoration contracting industry. They occupied the building for just over four years, and in that time grew their business from 14 to approximately 70 employees. 

Prior to Nextgear, another successful graduate was FNC (now Corelogic). Both companies remained in the Oxford area and have contributed immensely to Oxford-Lafayette economic development and job creation in the community.  

Target clients are small businesses that are considered to be in the start-up, early development, or expansion phase. Retail establishments with walk-in customers are not recommended for the facility, as emphasis is placed on office-setting businesses. 

Currently the center has thirteen tenants, all of which range in stages of development from start-up to expansion, and are on their way to graduation and becoming multi-million dollar companies that start, develop, and graduate from the Oxford Enterprise Center and remain in the Oxford area.

“In understanding that small start up businesses will always have specific special needs that vary, there are a variety of ways we are able assist the businesses in our facility which separates us from the normal commercial real estate setting,” said North Mississippi Enterprise Initiative and Oxford Enterprise Center Executive Director Holly Kelly.

The Oxford Enterprise Center is able to assist start up businesses with flexible leases and competitive rent rates. They provide assistance in developing a network of local business contacts, including local legal and marketing contacts willing to do pro-bono work for tenants, Board members that may be able to help identify possible business opportunities, the small business development center at Ole Miss, and the workforce development centers at Northwest Comm. College and Holmes Comm. College. The center also donates office space to community involved organizations such as Oxford Film Fest.