Kent County to award EDGE Grant bonuses

Good news for emerging businesses in Kent County: STEM companies that are awarded a $100,000 EDGE Grant will receive an additional $10,000 from the county, and recipients of the $50,000 entrepreneurship EDGE Grant will receive $5,000, according to the Delaware Division of Small Business.

Here’s another reason why Kent County companies should apply for an EDGE Grant from @delbiz https://t.co/CJGmPqFTA0#DelBiz #SmallBiz pic.twitter.com/7qE1yCTs2D

— Delaware Division of Small Business (@delbiz) August 27, 2019

The additional grants are available only to recipients based in Kent County.

The EDGE (which stands for Encouraging Development, Growth & Expansion) Grants will be distributed as a three-to-one state match in funds spent on growth necessities, including advertising, marketing analysis, construction/renovation, equipment, web design, lab space and rent. Ten grants may be awarded per application round.

The first round of EDGE grant applications were due in June, with 16 finalists announced in August. The final awardees will be announced in September — which is also when the next round of applications opens.

Three of the finalists appear to qualify for the additional Kent County award: Ezy Venture of Harrington, Qua Marketing of Magnolia and Tomeka’s of Dover.