The New Bohemian Innovation Collaborative (NewBoCo) in Cedar Rapids has been named one of 35 partnerships nationwide to receive funding from the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
The Stage Two winners were announced Sept. 20 by SBA administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.
Thirty-five award-winning accelerator partnerships nationwide, including NewBoCo, will receive $150,000 each from the SBA to help advance equitable investment in innovative startups and high-growth small businesses across several priorities, including National Security & Global Competitiveness, Domestic Manufacturing and Production, Climate and Renewable Energy, and Underserved Communities.
“Through the SBA’s 2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition awards, the Biden-Harris Administration is delivering on its commitment to entrepreneurship, competition and equity,” Ms. Guzman said in a release. “This network of accelerators will help ensure high-growth small businesses and innovative startups have access to resources and networks to scale in critical technologies across America.”
In 2023, the SBA introduced a new two-stage format for the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. In May, 40 SBA Stage One Catalyze winners from 30 states and territories, including NewBoCo, received $50,000 to build capacity and connections across the U.S. innovation ecosystem. Those winners were then invited to apply for Stage 2 of the competition to promote equitable access to resources and accelerate support to high-growth STEM and R&D-focused small businesses.
“These new Growth Accelerator partnerships will strengthen collaboration among local and national entrepreneurial organizations committed to enhancing the chance of success for science and technology driven companies to turn their innovations into impact,” SBA associate administrator for investment and innovation Bailey DeVries said. “We’re thrilled to bring in new partners who have not previously been engaged in the innovation ecosystem.”
Goals of the 2023 competition are to:
- Increase the pipeline and success of STEM/R&D-focused entrepreneurs and small businesses;
- Increase the success of STEM/R&D-focused entrepreneurs in accessing capital and resources to advance their businesses;
- Incentivize innovation ecosystem stakeholders to provide equitable access to resources for underserved communities and industries;
- Catalyze partnerships and relationships between stakeholder groups to strengthen the national innovation ecosystem; and
- Connect both new and established participants in the national innovation ecosystem.
In 2023, a total of $7.25 million in prizes will be awarded to support organizations in fostering innovation ecosystems nationwide and advance research and development from ideas to impact. Since its launch in 2014, the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition has awarded 387 prizes totaling more than $19 million to 284 unique winners across all 50 states and U.S. territories.
