The Economic Development Partnership, a non-profit public-private development corporation, was formed by Aiken County Council at the request of local business leaders in 1984. The community realized growth would be hampered and the area would fall behind other regions in South Carolina without a county-wide economic development focus.
The Partnership was restructured in 1988 to served Edgefield County. In 2014, Saluda County joined the Partnership, followed by McCormick County in 2017.
The Partnership is unique among economic development organizations in that it receives funds from all four county governments, as well as contributions from the private sector. The Partnership is governed by a Board of Directors with members from the public sector (appointed by the County Council) and from the private sector (elected by the public sector members).
