WARREN — This time next year, the nonprofit PA Wilds Center plans to pilot an online marketplace where consumers can buy authentic local products made in the PA Wilds region by a variety of nonprofits and small businesses.
Erie-based MakerPlace Inc. has been retained to develop the marketplace, PA Wilds Center CEO Ta Enos said Monday.
“Marketplace sites are more software development than website development, and we were thrilled to find the MakerPlace Inc. team right here in our backyard,” Enos said. “We are grateful to our partners at Ben Franklin Technology Partners, who helped connect us. MakerPlace has a proven track record, and the company’s values align with our nonprofit’s mission. We are excited to have them at our side as we work to build better market access for rural makers and entrepreneurs.”
An investment from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is helping to underwrite the buildout of the new regional e-commerce infrastructure.
The supply chain for the marketplace will be The Wilds Cooperative of PA, a free juried network of more than 350 local companies and organizations that the Center coordinates. The Center says it anticipates additional companies in the PA Wilds will join the network as the marketplace launches.
The PA Wilds online marketplace will allow qualified vendors in the Wilds Cooperative to feature their company on the marketplace, selling directly to consumers while drop shipping from their locations, but with the added marketing power of the regional PA Wilds brand.
The PA Wilds marketplace is expected to launch in late 2021.
