Lawrence Technical University’s Centrepolis Accelerator awarded grant from the US Small Business Association
$150,000 has been awarded to the Centrepolis Accelerator at Lawrence Technical University to help continue funding new products in Michigan.
Lawrence Technical University’s Centrepolis Accelerator has received $150,000 from the US Small Business Association’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.
The Growth Accelerator Fund aims to bolster investment in small businesses and startups around the country. The program prioritizes investing in Climate and Renewable Energy, National Security and Global Competitiveness, Underserved Communities, and Domestic Manufacturing and Production. Lawrence Technical University’s Centrepolis Accelerator was one of 35 to be awarded funds in the competition.
The Centrepolis Accelerator won a Stage Two Growth Accelerator Fund grant in the category of Domestic Manufacturing. The two-stage format was new for 2023. Stage One winners were selected in May and then were encouraged to apply for Stage Two.
The $150,000 award will allow the Centrepolis Accelerator to continue its work of helping tech companies in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula develop their products. These companies include Innovate Marquette and Houghton’s MTEC.
In an article on Lawrence Technological University’s website, Centrepolis Accelerator Executive Director Dan Radomski discussed how this grant will help the organization, saying, “Since our launch in 2018, the Centrepolis Accelerator has launched over 100 new products made in Michigan, resulting in the creation of hundreds of jobs and over $36 million of contracted business to Michigan’s supply chain. This grant will help us assist even more companies across the state with a focus on developing and manufacturing products in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”
The purpose of the grants, according to SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, “will help ensure high-growth small businesses and innovative startups have access to resources and networks to scale in critical technologies across America.”
For more information about the Centrepolis Accelerator, visit its website. For more information about Lawrence Technological University, visit the school’s website.