Two Tennessee organizations win awards from U.S. Small Business Administration
The BioTN Foundation Inc. and the Tennessee Native American Investment and Capital Alliance are two of 42 winners announced.
Two Tennessee organizations – the BioTN Foundation Inc. and the Tennessee Native American Investment and Capital Alliance – are two of 42 accelerator partnerships that are winners in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) latest 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) Stage Two competition.
Each organization received between $50,000 and $150,000 to advance its work supporting small businesses and start-ups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and research and development (R&D) across priority areas like national and economic security, domestic manufacturing and production, and sustainability and biotechnology.
GAFC Stage One prizes emphasized ecosystem network building, while Stage Two efforts focus on the enhanced support that can be provided to small businesses and startups through these Growth Accelerator Partnerships. These partnerships span public, private, nonprofit, and academic institutions, fostering collaboration across industries and geographies, with lead awardees headquartered in 34 U.S. states and territories, including Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, and assisting innovators nationally.
“Supported by SBA’s Investment and Innovation Ecosystem Development (IIED) Division, the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition awards boost strategic partnerships that create a national network so entrepreneurs can tap into significant capital and resources. Our work emphasizes the value of strategic connections and relationships across a wide variety of entrepreneur support organizations and accentuates how the work they are doing can successfully impact the growth and advancement of our federal innovation ecosystem,” said Brittany Sickler, Director of Ecosystem Development for SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation. “We are changing the trajectory for underserved communities and founders so that more startups and small businesses can scale and grow.”
For a complete list of the awardees, click here.
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