2024 Build to Scale
Funding Agency:
- Department of Commerce/EDA
Entrepreneurs, especially technology entrepreneurs, flourish in healthy ecosystems with the assets, resources, and institutions that help them overcome the many barriers that exist between an idea and a marketable technology. Technology-based economic development (TBED) strengthens these ecosystems through strategic investments that better enable entrepreneurs to build and scale technology-driven businesses, which in turn create good jobs1, economic opportunity, and the industries of the future. TBED increases organizations’ capacity to produce and deliver new technology products and services across the United States. EDA makes grants through the Build to Scale (B2S) Program to advance innovation economies that can accelerate the adoption and delivery of new technologies; with the ultimate goal of increasing regional and global competitiveness.2 EDA invites organizations that support technology- and innovation-centric, high-growth companies (including but not limited to startups) as they develop, demonstrate, and deploy the next generation of critical and emerging technologies to apply for Build to Scale funding. The Build to Scale program aims to: • build public and private capacity for entrepreneurs and innovators to invent, improve, and bring to market new products and services in critical, emerging, and transformative sectors and industries3; • accelerate the growth of regional economies that are focused on industries of the future; • empower communities to provide proof-of-concept and commercialization assistance to technology innovators and entrepreneurs; and • equitably and inclusively increase access to capital for technology-enabled entrepreneurs. This grant program supports organizations that may be operating initiatives to unlock investment capital across a region or sector, operating programs to accelerate company growth, empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs, or otherwise enabling technology commercialization. Frequently, entrepreneurs working in one or a set of related industries and technologies benefit from complementary resources, facilities, and labor markets. Applicants will strengthen their applications by centering their strategies on one or a combination of the key technology focus areas that the National Science Foundation (NSF) updates annually.4 Awards made under Build to Scale may only fund operational and programmatic costs related to developing and supporting regional innovation initiatives. Award funds may not be passed or transferred directly to beneficiaries (i.e., participant startup companies and individuals) served by the program being funded by award funds, but recipients may use award funds to facilitate access to equipment, facilities, expertise, or other resources critical to commercializing technologies via an objective, unbiased process. In addition, funds may not be used to subsidize such companies’ expenses that are unrelated to program activities, including general operating expenses. A provider of matching share, including an entity providing cash or in-kind contributions, may not serve as a contractor under the same award, and may not be paid with award funds to provide goods or services to the award recipient. Funding may not duplicate other Federal funding, including funding awarded under other TBED-centric EDA programs (e.g., STEM Talent Challenge, Tech Hubs), other Department of Commerce programs, or other Federal agency programs (e.g., NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines)). EDA will not fund activities that already are or will be paid for with other Federal funds or that are or will be counted as cost share on another Federal award.
2. Program Information Entrepreneurs adopting, developing, demonstrating, and deploying new technologies encounter numerous challenges and barriers along their journeys. These challenges and barriers often vary based on region, technology area, market, current economic conditions, and many other factors. Build to Scale provides flexible financial support for projects that enable entrepreneurs to face and overcome the particular challenges and barriers they face in a specific region and technology area. To maximize that flexibility, this iteration of Build to Scale combines the former Venture Challenge and Capital Challenge into a single Implementation Challenge, which will allow projects to increase access to capital alongside other activities.
Up to $5,000,000 in Federal funds per award
$50,000,000
4:59pm Eastern Time on October 28, 2024
Economic Development Administration Email: oie@eda.gov