Innovate Mississippi is the recipient of one of 24 SBA FAST awards that the U.S. Small Business Administration has granted for specialized training, mentoring, and technical assistance for R&D-focused small businesses under the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program administered by the SBA’s Office of Innovation and Technology.
Innovate Mississippi received $125,000 toward the effort, the highest level of the award.
“FAST is an exceptional opportunity for STEM and R&D focused small businesses to receive preparation to win applications for federal grants to develop their technologies, said Tony Jeff, president & CEO of Innovate Mississippi. “We’re very pleased to be working with the SBA, the University of Southern Mississippi and other partners in the state on the MS-FAST program.”
The SBA FAST program seeks to improve outcomes in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs for underserved communities by increasing participation from women-owned, rural-based, and socially economically disadvantaged small businesses.
“Our FAST partners address the unique needs of next-generation, high-tech small businesses. The program supports innovative entrepreneurs from underserved communities by helping them start and grow—a primary mission for SBA,” said SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza. “Programs like FAST are more critical than ever as the SBA is laser-focused on helping small businesses recover and once again propel the national economy forward. The SBIR and STTR funding can be the early seed capital to jumpstart companies today and make them successful in the future.”
The FAST Partnership Program provides one-year of funding to organizations that team up with others in their state to help build the innovation ecosystem that is key to helping grow the tech economy in that state. Current law only allows one proposal per state and territory. Candidates are endorsed by their state and territorial governors. Proposals are evaluated by panels of reviewers from SBA and the SBIR participating agencies. Varying levels of matching funds are required, based on the number of SBIR Phase I awards in each state.
Recipients this year cover a wide geographic area and include state and local economic development entities, Small Business Technology Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, incubators, accelerators, colleges, and universities. All entities will provide support to small businesses developing high-risk technologies.
[Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash]
