YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown Business Incubator has won a $150,000 award in Stage 2 of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2023 Growth Acceleration Fund Competition, a program that supports the national innovation ecosystem.
The downtown business startup incubator is part of the Appalachian Advanced Manufacturing Ecosystem, a model that “builds strategic partnerships to support the launch, growth and scale” of small and medium-sized businesses with a focus on STEM and research and development, according to a press release. It is said that he won an award for it.
The plan also “amplifies the impact” of partnerships with growth accelerators nationwide to “facilitate equitable investment in advanced manufacturing in Appalachia and other underserved communities.” The company will work to “nurture and promote” the ecosystem, the release said.
“Thanks to our strong partnership with YBI, America Makes: National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, and Youngstown State University, we secured our first win and are in great position to raise Stage 2 funding. ” said Barb Ewing, CEO of YBI.
It was in May that YBI announced it had won $50,000 in Stage 1 of the contest. The funds were used to build partnerships for the model.
Program activities include promoting small business innovation research and small business technology transfer research grants to university partners and small businesses, encouraging capital investment in early stage advanced manufacturing companies, and advancing advanced manufacturing technologies in regional manufacturing industries. This includes raising awareness of entrepreneurship, creating opportunities for entrepreneurship and supporting diversity. and participation in manufacturing.
Stage 2 winners were selected through a multi-tiered panel process of entrepreneurship, business, innovation, and strategic planning experts from within and outside the federal government.
