Matt Raker

Building a vibrant and inclusive entrepreneurial community

Matt Raker is an economic developer focused on place-based and entrepreneurial strategies. He serves as Executive Director at Mountain BizWorks where he helps expand the opportunity of local business ownership across Western North Carolina by increasing access to capital and high-quality peer learning programs. Over the last 5 years, Matt and the BizWorks team have increased their lending capacity more than five-fold, have helped 473 new companies start, over 750 expand, and have active financing projects in 26 Western North Carolina counties. Prior to Mountain BizWorks, Matt directed entrepreneurial development at a state-sponsored economic development agency where he led projects generating over $150m in regional investment and 400 jobs. He’s also contracted the entrepreneur-bug himself, co-founding 3 area businesses. Matt holds degrees in Economics and Natural Resources Management from University of North Carolina Asheville. He, his wife, and their two kids live in Asheville.