LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- Louisville may be known more for its fast horses and bourbon, but something new has been brewing in the Derby City.
"This is a place that isn't necessarily a traditional tech hub, but we really see there is a strong appetite and enthusiasm for digital skills and tech opportunities," Jesse Haines, the director of Grow with Google said.
"Our job is to make sure prosperity spreads throughout our city and to train people for the future," Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said.
"Listen, this is a city that's moving," Gov. Matt Bevin, R.-Kentucky, said. "This is a commonwealth, this is an area that is moving. There's a lot that's happening digitally and otherwise."
"Sometimes it's undervalued," Anjali Chadha, a student at duPont Manual, said. "I think that Louisville has a lot of great things going on and there needs to be a lot more appreciation for all of the entrepreneurship that is happening."
Grow with Google made its fourth stop on its nationwide tour in Louisville Thursday. The tech giant's initiative aims to help people find job, grow their businesses and create economic opportunities by equipping people with tech skills needed in the 21st century.
"Who else is better than Google to teach you more about how to be Google-able, especially for a small business owner?" Tiffany Williams, a small business owner, said.
For Williams, Thursday's event, which was free to the public and filled with classes, workshops and one-on-one help sessions, was about helping her better market herself and her business in the digital sphere.
"When you own a small business, you wear so many different hats, and this is one hat we have to kind of get used to because this is the direction the world is going in," she said.
Chadha, 15, is no stranger to technology. The student at Manual is also the founder of Empowered Inc., a nonprofit helping minority young girls learn technical skills, which she said are needed to help move Louisville forward.
"In order to be a progressive city, in order to really get into the global space in the 21st century, tech startups and tech engagement is just really, really essential," she said.
Google also announced a $100,000 sponsorship with KentuckianaWorks called the Digitally Empowered Fund, which will help the nonprofit expand its training programs and its SummerWorks Program.
Google is also partnering with other local groups, including Code Louisville, Greater Louisville Inc., JCTC, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Louisville Free Public Library, Student Veterans of America, the Chamber of St. Matthews and Metro United Way.
►Contact reporter Dennis Ting at dting@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@DennisJTing) and Facebook.