TechNebraska, a new statewide technology organization, will unite the state’s tech community

December 16, 2022 — Today, NE Chamber President Bryan Slone announced the formation of Tech Nebraska, a new, statewide organization to cultivate Nebraska’s tech community and drive collaboration, growth and policy.
 
Tech Nebraska will unite and strengthen Nebraska’s statewide technology community by helping drive industry growth and position the state as a leader in the future of technology and innovation, advocate for tech-forward public policies and support the development of a diverse, talented workforce. The organization is in the early stages of formation with senior level information and technology officers joining the founding board, including representatives from Kiewit, Google, Methodist Health System, Union Pacific, Meta, and Workshop, among others.
 
“Nebraska needs a thriving, unified tech sector to help drive its economy, compete for top talent and solve the challenges of tomorrow,” Slone said. “It’s imperative – regardless of whether you run a business in the urban core of Omaha, the shop floor in Columbus or from a pasture in the Sandhills. Every company is a tech company.”
 
The organization is being launched on a solid foundation. Nebraska outputs nearly $4.5 billion in GDP from the information technology sector and ranks in the top 15 states for most tech jobs per capita, a tribute to the work already underway by technology leaders, partners and governmental agencies, Slone said.
 
“We’ve grown our Silicon Prairie reputation by leaps and bounds over the past decade, but our tech community hasn’t reached its full potential yet,” he said.
 
For example, the Milken Institute’s State Technology and Science Index in 2022 ranked Nebraska 34th out of 50th,  a modest gain from 38th in 2020. The Milken Index measures state-level knowledge economies, including their capability to support business formation, job creation, and wage growth. Nebraska also ranked 46th of 50 in the 2022 Global Innovation Index’s most and least innovative states list. 
 
Tech Nebraska will leverage the collective expertise of its members – from McCook to Valentine, Scottsbluff to Omaha – to align with progress in peer states, many of which have had statewide-focused technology associations for decades. It will also partner with existing technology advocates and stakeholders in various regions of the state to build Nebraska’s reputation as a top-tier tech state.
 
In the coming months, Tech Nebraska will continue to recruit new members and begin to set future fundraising goals, as well as hire an executive director and staff.
 
More information will be made available soon, and a website and social media accounts will launch. Companies interested in engaging their chief information and technology officers may contact the NE Chamber for more information at [email protected] or 402-474-4422.