US Department of Commerce Invests $23 Million to Fuel Entrepreneurship

The Herbert C. Hoover Building is the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the United States Department of Commerce. Photo: U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross revealed that 44 organizations  from 28 states and two territories will receive grants totaling $23 million to create and expand high-growth entrepreneurship programs, including a space technology commercialization project. The grants are made annually under the Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) Regional Innovation Strategies (RIS) program competition. The 2019 awardees will leverage an additional $26 million in matching funds from a variety of private and public sector sources.

Selected from a pool of 183 applicants, this year’s awardees include a new impact investing effort managed by the Halcyon in Washington, D.C that will increase access to capital for social entrepreneurs in the D.C. region, a space technology commercialization project led by the Maui Economic Development Board in Hawaii that will expand entrepreneurship training and STEM-focused career pathway curriculum, and a biomedical healthcare and bioscience initiative led by Cincinnati Children’s Impact Investment Fund in Ohio that will increase access to early stage capital for emerging biomedical companies in the Greater Cincinnati Region. In addition, projects in federally-designated Opportunity Zones will bring capital and opportunity to communities bypassed by recent economic growth.

“Innovation and entrepreneurship are an indispensable part of the American economic success story, and the Trump Administration is pursuing an agenda that will ensure the U.S. remains a leader in both areas,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “These projects will spark innovation across the country and will build on the beneficial environment the Trump Administration is creating for American businesses.”