END OF YEAR REPORT 2025
A Note from STL Partnership
Business Development
Business Retention and Expansion
Business Finance
Strategic Initiatives
St. Louis Mosaic Project
World Trade Center
Community Investment
Marketing
2026 Preview
A NOTE FROM STL PARTNERSHIP
Dear Partners,
In 2025, we learned firsthand of what St. Louis can accomplish when it teams up and puts community first. From the teamwork shown to help those in need after the devastating tornado that ripped through St. Louis on May 16 to the efforts to clean up and put an end to illegal dumping in Kinloch, MO to the collaboration to bring the region its first direct flight to London in decades, I truly do believe St. Louis is capable of anything when it works together.
We are proud of everything we accomplished in 2025 and look forward to the opportunities for continued growth in 2026. As we aim to attract, retain and grow businesses in St. Louis City and County and favorably impact the region, we feel like our work–and the work of our many partners–has put St. Louis in a place to succeed today and in the future.
Continue reading this report to see many of our highlights from 2025 from each of our divisions. Thank you for your continued support of STL Partnership, and we look forward to working with you to help keep the region thriving in the new year.
Sincerely,
Rodney Crim CEO & President
The Business Development division works with our economic development partners including St. Louis Development Corporation, Greater St. Louis, Inc., Missouri Partnership, Missouri Department of Economic Development, Ameren, and Spire to attract, retain and grow businesses in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis.
$2.095 Billion In Investment
$4m
$1.85m
13,662
Business Retention & expansion
Led by the Business Development and World Trade Center St. Louis (WTC) divisions, the Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) group links St. Louis companies with government and economic development officials to ensure business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs know who to contact regarding opportunities or challenges.
BRE International
Helping regional companies sell globally
Launched in 2023
St. Louis manufacturing and service exports and supports over $15.2 Billion
90,000 local jobs
BRE Partners
Objectives
• Engage companies for investment
• Partner to solve challenges
• Identify new opportunities
• Advance equity and inclusion
MET WITH 41 BUSINESSES IN FY 2025
Our Business Finance division offers Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loans, Economic Development Administration (EDA) loans, various commercial revolving loan funds, and industrial revenue bonds to support businesses in the St. Louis region. These funds can be used for various items including working capital, equipment, and inventory, in addition to purchasing real estate for both existing and new businesses. The division also participates in outreach to help companies explore new opportunities.
FY25
$2.6 Million
Funded in St. Louis
$1,981,000 $705,000 in SBA 504 loans in revolving loans
$12 Million in Bond Issuance
34 Employees In Business 40 Years
Recently added 15 new RBTs to staff Received $130,000 RLF loan Opening clinic soon
6 Employees In Business 27 Years
Purchased operating building with SBA 504 loan
stRategic initiatives
POSITIONING ST. LOUIS TO COMPETE
Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS)
◇ Working with four surrounding counties on a new CEDS for the St. Louis Region
◇ Required for EDA funding eligibility
◇ Aligns partners, priorites, and investment
IEDC-Accredited
Economic Development Organization
◇ Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC)
◇ Confirms best practices and organizational excellence
Five-Year Strategic Plan
◇ Leads organization-wide implementation
◇ Expands services to small businesses
◇ Increases planning support for municipalities and unincorporated St. Louis County
Building the strategy, credibility, and capacity needed to compete for federal investment and drive long-term regional growth.
city initiatives
Project Connect
A city-led effort aligning development, infrastructure, and neighborhood priorities in North St. Louis.
◇ 6 Neighborhoods
◇ MLK Blvd + NGA Area
◇ Coordinated Redevelopment
◇ Community-Driven Input
Transformation Fund AMICSTL
Unlocking equitable economic growth through aligned public, private, and philanthropic investments.
Philanthropy → Public Funding
→ Impact Investors
→ Neighborhood Impact
Positioning St. Louis as a national hub for advanced manufacturing.
◇ New Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis (AMICSTL) Facility near Ranken
◇ Improving Regional Economy
◇ Hundreds of High-Wage Jobs
◇ Opening 2027
Revitalization happens through collaboration and we’re proud to be co-partners in building North St. Louis’s future.
ST. LOUIS MOSAIC
The St. Louis Mosaic Project is a regional initiative operated by the Partnership serves as a trusted resource to help foreign-born professionals, and their families fully integrate into the St. Louis region and thrive, professionally and personally.
Mosaic’s mission is to amplify the many ways that St. Louis is welcoming to foreign‐born individuals who re‐locate here for employment, educational, or other opportunities.
Goal:
Maintain St. Louis as the fastest growing major metropolitan area for immigration by 2030
First Focus
Support global talent attraction and retention
Second Focus
Retain and grow the Latino population through STL Para Ti (St. Louis For You)
MOSAIC PROJECT
GLOBAL TALENT HIRING
17
local universities involved with the University Connection Best Practice Sharing Program.
9,000
international students in the St. Louis region.
100+
representatives from university career service andinternational student offices, inform & educate students about networking, connecting with mentors.
AMBASSADORS
1,000+
SOCIAL CONNECTOR
1,300+
International Spouse Meetup Group: 900+ trailing spouses that meet 2+/mo.
INDIVIDUALS
182 SCHOOLS
56 COMPANIES
ENTREPRENURSHIP SUPPORT
Helping immigrant entrepreneurs navigate their way toward starting or expanding their businesses, with support from the International Institute Community Development Corporation and regional entrepreneur support organizations.
International Mentoring Program: matched 400 international women with 400 local mentors since Jan 2017.
Expat Men's Club: pilot program to provide social connections for international men.
PROFESSIONAL CONNECTOR
400+
foreign born professionals connected with globally-minded professionals in their respective industries, helping them expand their networks to find jobs in St. Louis region.
WORLD TRADE
For more than 30 years, as the international division of the STL Partnership, World Trade Center St. Louis (WTC) has supported growth for the region’s businesses as well as ensuring St. Louis companies are represented in an increasingly global marketplace.
Non-stop service between St. Louis Lambert International Airport and London Heathrow Airport April 19, 2026
TRADE CENTER
This year, WTC expanded its global engagement through a robust slate of events, international travel, and diplomatic exchanges. Key highlights included a fact-finding mission to Kigali, Rwanda alongside St. Louis regional leaders; hosting more than 30 delegates from Argentina, culminating in the signing of a memorandum of understanding; and meetings with Ireland’s Ambassador to the U.S.
Growing Global 2025
Sold out event with over 700 attendees September 24, 2025
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
As part of the Transforming Neighborhoods program, STL Partnership and St. Louis REALTORS® hosted members of the Counselors of Real Estate Consulting Corps, who met with stakeholders in Spanish Lake to give recommendations for economic growth in the area surrounding the upcoming WildCare Park.
Continuation of ongoing support for West Florissant Great Streets’ long-term operations and maintenance plans.
INVESTMENT
The Community Investment (CI) division works alongside regional leaders to improve economic activity and sustainable communities in economically distressed areas of North County and North City.
The CI division coordinates tools and resources for business and community development in under-resourced communities, including brownfield site assessment grants and the brownfield revolving loan fund, community engagement, government relations, and sustainable communities.
Working with the City of Kinloch and a cohort of stakeholders on multiphase cleanup of illegal dumping in Kinloch, Mo.
The Marketing division for STL Partnership, WTC and the Mosaic Project played a key role in getting the word out about the initiatives and valuable work of all three organizations in 2025.
500 media placements
MARKETING
Website
WTC launched a redesigned website that is streamlined, easier to navigate and mobile-responsive.
It is designed to better meet the needs of the WTC’s members, partners and friends, providing needed information right at their fingertips.
STL Partnership staff made appearances on multiple podcasts in 2025, including Winning STL, Develop This! and Your Fed, Your Voice.
Podcasts
Awards
The work of STL Partnership continued to win awards in 2025, including the Business Retention and Expansion award from the Missouri Economic Development Council (MEDC), Business Facilities magazine’s 2025 Economic Development Organization (EDO) Awards, APA Missouri 2024 Outstanding Plan Award, Qualified Low-Income Community Investments (QLICI) award from Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits, St. Louis Magazine’s inaugural Business 500 Leadership, and the St. Louis Business Journal’s 2025 Champions for Diversity and Inclusion award.
2026 Preview
2025 was certainly a year to remember, and we look forward economic development partners to help continue growing the
The work of STL Partnership and many of our partners will focus tressed areas, retaining and expanding businesses throughout in St. Louis City and County, bringing more international business small, local companies take that next step in their development.
Our dedicated team will continue to attract, retain, and facilitate
Preview
to what 2026 will bring as we continue to work with all of our the St. Louis region.
focus on delivering new opportunities to economically disthroughout the region, providing loan options for growing businesses business to the area, and offering business incubators that help development.
facilitate the growth of businesses around St. Louis in 2026.
