This story was reported with support from the Delaware Division of Small Business. DSB assists small businesses by providing guidance and advice, helping navigate state permitting processes, increasing access to funding opportunities and connecting owners with strategic partners. Its mission is to help small businesses start, grow and scale in Delaware.

Moves is a recurring series where we chart big and notable changes for people and companies in Delaware. Got a tip? Email us at delaware@technical.ly.

It’s officially fall, with school back in session and the third business quarter looming large. As we settle into the last half of the year, there are some big things happening in Delaware.

This month, we’ve got a new EDGE Grant, new Delaware Prosperity Partnership board members and a brand new agriculture hub at Delaware State University.

We’ve also got moves in the Delaware Department of Technology & Information, Bank of America Delaware, University of Delaware and Tech Impact.

Delaware revamps the EDGE Grant

Delaware’s EDGE Grant (Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion), the flagship funding program of the Delaware Division of Small Business (DSB), revamped the grant to increase the amount of funding to up to $400,000, a 60% increase.

To date, EDGE has distributed nearly $8 million in awards to 120 small businesses over the last six years, with the previous maximum of $100,000.

“After months of thoughtful conversations, we are excited to finally share the details about EDGE 2.0,” said DSB Director CJ Bell in a press release. “This modern version of EDGE creates clear pathways to scale, driven by collaboration with resource partners across Delaware’s innovation ecosystem.”

The program will continue to feature two tracks – entrepreneur and STEM — with a new dynamic pitch competition where finalists compete for scaled, flexible funding. Other changes include a new online submission process, no set award amounts, additional post-pitch services and resources.

The next round of applications will open in January.

Governor Meyer appoints 13 new members to the DPP board

Governor Matt Meyer announced thirteen new appointments to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership Board (DPP) following its August 18 quarterly meeting. He also called on the board to strengthen its focus on supporting startups and building an innovation- and entrepreneurship-driven economy in Delaware.

Since its creation, the Delaware Prosperity Partnership (DPP), a recipient of a 2025 Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council, has served as Delaware’s public-private economic development organization with a focus on business recruitment, retention and expansion.

“Delaware’s economy is strongest when we turn new ideas into successful businesses that create jobs and opportunities right here at home,” said Gov. Matt Meyer. “By making innovation and entrepreneurship a core part of DPP’s mission, we are positioning Delaware to compete nationally as a hub for startups and cutting-edge industries.”

The 13 new members are:

  • Rob Herrera (co-chair), founder and managing partner of the Mill
  • Zakiyyah Ali, CEO of the Tech Council of Delaware
  • Pat Callahan, Director at LabWare and serves on the State of Delaware’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence
  • Ed Capodanno, President of Associated Builders and Contractors, Delaware Chapter, and the Construction Education Foundation of Delaware
  • Malcolm Coley, founder of ReadyPromptOne, host of Delaware’s first AI Summit, and CTO of Futures First Gaming
  • Daniel Freeman, founding director of Horn Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware
  • John Gavenonis, former vice president and general manager of Agilent Technologies’ Chemistries and Supplies Division and held multiple senior roles at DuPont 
  • Jeanne Mell, principal of JMell Communications
  • Steve Montgomery, operating owner of The Starboard Restaurant Group
  • Emilie Ninan, co-chair of Ballard Spahr’s national Finance Department
  • Suzanne Sysko Clough, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of AmalgamRx
  • Krishna Vaddi, founder and CEO of Prelude Therapeutics
  • Robert Wittig, partner at DSM Commercial

Top HBCU DSU opens the Agilent Hub for Agriculture

On September 22, Delaware State University — recently ranked the No. 4 on the list of public Historically Black Colleges and Universities by US News and World Report — officially opened the Agilent Hub for Agriculture, Innovation and Extension. The 10,500-square-foot structure was built on the site of the former DSU baseball field.

In three years, under the leadership of retired CEO Mike McMullen and Sally Frank, Agilent has invested $10 million in DSU’s College of Agriculture, Science and Technology, including $4 million in scholarships, $5 million in instrumentation and $1 million for the first endowed professorship at DSU.

“We generally have longstanding great relationships with companies, but sometimes a company comes in and asks, ‘What can we do and how fast can we do it,’” said DSU President Tony Allen.

More moves

  • The Delaware Department of Technology & Information officially appointed Aashish Patel as the permanent chief security officer, after serving in an interim capacity. 
  • The Chemours Company announced that Joseph Martinko, president of Thermal & Specialized Solutions, has been awarded the 2025 Winthrop-Sears Medal by the Chemists’ Club.
  • Bank of America has named Kelly Firment, small business and vehicle client servicing executive, as president of Bank of America Delaware. She succeeds Chip Rossi, who led the market for more than 15 years and retired this past June.
  • TechSoup and Tech Impact have launched the Virtual Chief Technology Officer Program for the nonprofit sector, a collaboration designed to help small nonprofits adopt, manage and optimize technology cost-effectively and sustainably. The joint initiative targets nonprofits with operating budgets less than $1 million, providing access to strategic technology planning, expert support and tools typically out of reach for small organizations. The program aims to reduce barriers to digital transformation and build long-term technology capacity across the sector.
  • Intern Delaware will now be overseen by Leadership Delaware Inc., moving away from the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce’s oversight after five years.
  • Sunita Chandrasekaran, director of UD’s First State AI Institute, received the SIGHPC Emerging Woman Leader in Technical Computing Award from the Association for Computing Machinery.

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