Wilmington just won a $50K federal grant to support startup development

Earlier this summer, President Barack Obama announced the creation of the “Startup in a Day” initiative in collaboration with the Small Business Administration and the National League of Cities.
The announcement was, more or less, a call-to-arms for America’s mayors, challenging municipalities to follow in the footsteps of established startup hubs like Boston and San Francisco by developing an online permitting and licensing tool for local entrepreneurs. Eligible cities interested in such a resource had from June 11 to June 13 to apply for a grant that would fund the development of the tool.
Denizens of American cities rushed the floodgates. Only 25 were selected to receive a $50,000 — and one of those cities was little old Wilmington, Del.
“Through the Startup in a Day program, the City will work towards simplifying the process of getting a new business off the ground,” Wilmington mayor Dennis Williams said in a press release. “The grant will help us start the process of developing online tools that help entrepreneurs discover resources and apply  in less than one day  to start a business.”
The news comes hot on the heels of Entrepreneur Media’s recent “Top Small Cities to Start a Business In,” in which Wilmington was ranked No. 3 in the country (despite what we believe to be, unfortunately, corrupted data).
“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to do business in Wilmington,” said Office of Economic Development Director Jeff Flynn. “This grant gives us the opportunity to examine our internal processes and make sure they are as expedient as they can be in launching new businesses starts.”
Cities that received grants are required to create the tool within one year and share best practices with the National League of Cities.