A quartet of local accelerator programs received funding through a U.S. Small Business Administration challenge.
Through the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, 60 incubators and accelerators around the country won awards of $50,000 each. In all, the SBA is funding $3 million.
“I am proud to announce the winners of the 2019 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition,” Acting SBA Administrator Chris Pilkerton said in a statement. “Over the past five years, the competition has provided awards to innovative and promising accelerators and incubators. This year’s recipients, who will each receive an award of $50,000 from the SBA, are no exception.”
These are the local programs receiving funding:
- Mtech Ventures, the incubator located on the campus of University of Maryland College Park offering space and training to entrepreneurs
- F3 Tech Accelerator, the Easton-based program focusing on providing support for startups working in “farm, food and fish”
- LifeBridge Health Accelerator Program, the program of the Baltimore-based healthcare provider’s innovation team
- FastForward, the program providing a group of resources to startups that’s run by Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures
The awards are designed to function as operating capital for the programs. Accelerators that received awards from the SBA agreed to focus at least 60% of work related to the funding on helping entrepreneurs who are socially and economically disadvantaged, or living in an Opportunity Zone.
