Maui Business Report

A message from the Maui Economic Development Board:

Seeding Innovation

Celebrating 35-years, Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) has been spearheading innovation in Maui County and throughout Hawaii. Staying true to our mission, our nonprofit organization continues to diversify industry sectors by nurturing new opportunities in technology, energy, optics, health and “next generation” agri-tech, as well as strengthening the education-to-workforce pipeline across the state.

As the go-to resource for innovative economic development, MEDB is strategically located in the 330-acre campus of the Maui Research & Technology Park, hub of the island’s scientific and technical community. Since our creation in 1982, we have been proud to play a pivotal role in the development and growth of businesses, big and small — even providing incubation space for a number of successful start-up companies.

MEDB’s conference management team welcomes thought-leaders to share best practices at our annual forums: the Maui Energy Conference; the Hawaii Small Business Conference May 2-3 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center; and the AMOS Technical Conference, where international attendees discuss the future of space traffic management.

Recognizing that STEM education would be the catalyst for a skilled 21st century workforce in Hawaii, we created the Women in Technology (WIT) Project in 1999 to work in partnership with educators and industry to engage our students in STEM career pathways. This initiative, now serving 40,000 participants across the state, has since produced cutting-edge programs such as STEMworks^TM, Island Energy Inquiry^TM and the Hawaii STEM Conference, April 10-11 at the Hawaii Convention Center. Most recently, MEDB partnered with Code.org, to elevate computer science skills in K-12.

At the heart of all MEDB-led programs is building critical and creative thinking among students, teachers and entrepreneurs, while encouraging hands-on learning with industry professionals – because we know the challenges before us are best solved by a homegrown talent pool.