AWS AI Pitch Competition Is This Thursday, April 16th.
The Amazon Web Services AI Pitch Competition, co-hosted by the ASBTDC and UA Little Rock, takes place Thursday, April 16th, at 5:30–8:00 p.m. at the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Business and Economic Development on the UALR campus. The prize is $50,000 in professional AI implementation services from PREDICTif Solutions, funded by AWS, covering technical architecture, solution development, and hands-on build support for the winning Arkansas entrepreneur. This is the most direct, highest-value AI resource available to any Arkansas small business owner right now, regardless of industry or tech experience.
There are six days left to submit a pitch application or show up as a free public attendee. There is no entry fee, no technical prerequisite, and no minimum business size. Any Arkansas entrepreneur with an idea for how AI could improve operations, cut costs, or serve customers better is eligible to compete. Even if you don't win, every competitor receives structured feedback from AWS solution architects and ASBTDC advisors; the equivalent of a free AI strategy consultation. The event is also open to the public at no cost, making it the best free AI education event in Central Arkansas this month.
There is time to still register at luma.com/eyzl670q to either to pitch or to attend. If you've been on the fence, this is the final call. Seats for public attendees are first-come, first-served.
Tariff Refunds Are Coming and Arkansas Importers May Be Owed Real Money
On April 7th, the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund approximately $165 billion in unlawfully collected IEEPA tariff duties (money collected from U.S. businesses) following the Supreme Court's February 20th ruling that IEEPA does not authorize presidential tariff authority. CBP is now building a new automated refund system called CAPE to process the reimbursements. However, the government has until early May 2026 to appeal, which could trigger a stay and delay refunds for months or years.
Over 330,000 U.S. importers paid IEEPA tariff duties across more than 53 million import entries. If your supply business imported goods from any country between April 2025 and February 2026, you likely paid these now-invalidated duties. The total collected nationally was $151–165 billion, and Arkansas small businesses are part of that pool. The critical window is now: businesses that filed protests with CBP or suits at the Court of International Trade before liquidation are best positioned to receive refunds. Those who did nothing yet still have options, but the clock on administrative remedies is moving.
What you can do: call a licensed customs broker or trade attorney this week. Search ncbfaa.org for a National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association member near you. Ask specifically whether you have unliquidated entries that qualify for a CAPE refund claim. The consultation is typically free or low-cost, and the refund on even a modest import business could run into thousands of dollars.
Income Tax Cuts Are Coming: Gov. Sanders Calls Special Session. What It Means for Your Business
On April 8th, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders opened the Arkansas Fiscal Session and announced that if the General Assembly passes a budget without new long-term spending obligations, she will call a special session to pursue further income tax cuts; an estimated 0.2% reduction in the top individual and corporate rates, returning more than $180 million to Arkansas taxpayers. If passed, this would mark the fourth consecutive year of state income tax cuts under Governor Sanders, bringing the top individual rate from 4.9% (2022) to as low as 3.7%. The top corporate rate would similarly drop to approximately 4.1%.
For a Conway LLC owner or Little Rock S-Corp operator, every 0.1% reduction in the state income tax rate is real money back in your pocket, and real capital available to reinvest in staff, equipment, or AI tools. Arkansas's cumulative 20%+ income tax reduction since 2022 has already made it one of the most tax-competitive states in the South. If this fourth cut passes likely within 60–90 days, small business owners structured as pass-throughs (LLCs, sole proprietors, S-Corps) benefit directly because business income flows through to personal returns. Pair that with the federal Section 179 expensing limit now permanently set at $2.5 million, and Q3–Q4 2026 is shaping up as one of the best investment windows in years for capital expenditure.
Tell your accountant or bookkeeper about the pending special session. Ask them to model what a 0.2% rate reduction means for your 2026 estimated tax payments and whether accelerating any equipment or technology purchases into Q3 2026 makes sense given the intersection of the rate cut and Section 179 expensing rules.
Amercable’s $10M Expansion Signals Data Center Supplier Boom for Arkansas Manufacturers
On April 7th, the AEDC announced that AmerCable, a leading manufacturer of industrial electrical cables headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas since 1978, will invest more than $10 million to expand its existing operations, adding 26,000 square feet and creating 13 new jobs over three years. AmerCable's VP of Operations Stan Calloway confirmed the expansion targets "new and existing customer demand across data center, global mining, and industrial markets." Work begins in Q3 2026.
The phrase "data center markets" in AmerCable's announcement is the key signal. The $12+ billion in hyperscale data centers announced for Pulaski County, West Memphis, and the Port of Little Rock aren't just employing construction workers; they're creating an industrial supply chain ripple that is already pulling demand upstream to Arkansas manufacturers like AmerCable. For Conway and Central Arkansas small business owners in manufacturing, logistics, electrical contracting, staffing, or industrial supply, this is a concrete example of how AI infrastructure investment translates into local B2B revenue. Businesses that position themselves in the supply chain now — through AEDC supplier registration, direct outreach to general contractors, or simply understanding what data centers need — will be first-mover winners.
Register as an Arkansas supplier at arkansasedc.com/business-resources and contact the AEDC's Business Recruitment team. Specifically ask to be added to the supplier lists for the AVAIO Digital Leo campus and the Google West Memphis project. This takes less than 30 minutes and costs nothing.
Venture Center’s Lithium Accelerator Enters April Cohort - A New B2B Opportunity for AR Businesses
The Venture Center, in partnership with Standard Lithium and the University of Arkansas, launched Cohort Three of the Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA) in April 2026, the nation's first accelerator program dedicated to lithium innovation and the U.S. battery supply chain. Applications for the September 2026 (Cohort Four) are now being accepted on a rolling basis. The program supports companies developing technologies across the full lithium value chain, from extraction (Southern Arkansas sits on one of the world's largest lithium brine deposits) to battery manufacturing.
Arkansas is quietly becoming the lithium capital of the United States, and that industrial transformation creates real downstream business opportunities for Conway and Little Rock small business owners, not just tech startups. Companies in the ALTA cohort need local vendors for professional services, HR, catering, logistics, and facility support. For entrepreneurs with technology or science backgrounds, ALTA itself is an application-worthy program: it offers mentorship, investor access, and the University of Arkansas' research infrastructure. The Venture Center explicitly notes that companies not selected for the April cohort are kept in the pipeline for September — making application now essentially risk-free.
Apply for ALTA Cohort Four at venturecenter.co or email Viktoria Capek at [email protected] for more information. If you're not a tech company but want supplier access to the cohort companies, visit the same site and click "Partner With Us" to explore B2B vendor opportunities.
📅 Events & Deadlines to look forward too: April 10th–30th, 2026
Date | Event | Action |
|---|---|---|
April 12 | Free ASBTDC "Starting a Business in Arkansas" workshop, Paragould[18] | Register: call 870-972-3517 |
April 16 | AWS AI Pitch Competition, UA Little Rock (FREE to attend)[1] | Register: luma.com/eyzl670q |
April 21 | Conway Chamber Catfish & Cold Ones | Network; collect email subscribers |
April 22 | FINAL DEADLINE: SBA EIDL Disaster Loans for spring 2025 storm-affected AR counties[19] | Apply: sba.gov/disaster |
April 24–26 | Venture Center JOLT Cyber Challenge, Little Rock[20] | Register: Eventbrite |
Early May | Government deadline to appeal tariff refund order[3] | Contact a customs broker NOW |
The convergence of the income tax special session, tariff refund mechanics solidifying, data center supply chain expansion, and the final AI pitch competition deadline makes this the most consequential two-week stretch for Arkansas small business owners in 2026.
Thumbnail photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-keyboard-buttons-2882634/