This past year, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, or EDA, awarded Innovate Mississippi two prestigious “Build to Scale” federal grants—a remarkable achievement for the organization.
The first grant, a Capital Challenge Grant of $263,617, will help establish and support the growth of regional angel funds in the Oxford/Northeast Mississippi area and the entire River Region, spanning from Natchez up to the Mississippi Delta. Innovate Mississippi has already facilitated the creation of several such funds in other parts of the state, contributing to the growth of Mississippi’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by improving access to capital where it is scarce.
The EDA provides Capital Challenge Grants to assist in developing early-stage investment funds, networks, and training programs specializing in traditional and hybrid equity-based financing in areas where access to risk capital is limited.
The second grant, a Venture Challenge Grant worth $375,000, was awarded to Innovate Mississippi to strengthen its partnerships with other organizations and to expand its CoBuilders startup accelerator program. The EDA awarded this grant to enable high-growth technology entrepreneurship and to foster broader access to successful entrepreneurship support models.
“Winning two awards at the same time is perhaps unprecedented, but this combined $600,000 in both projects is going to have a huge impact on investment and entrepreneurship in Mississippi,” said Innovate Mississippi CEO Tony Jeff. “This is validation for the entire Mississippi entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
After a successful inaugural year, Innovate Mississippi is planning now on CoBuilders 2023, a new round of its statewide startup accelerator program, in collaboration with its seven regional partners. Innovate Mississippi is also working to create new funds and organize investors from Natchez to Oxford.
Entrepreneurs interested in the CoBuilders accelerator can visit CoBuilders.ms for more information on the application process. Investors who want to work with other investors in their region should contact Lindsey Benefield at LBenefield@innovate.ms.
