Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
Something new may be coming to the MTEC Smartzone.
The successful business incubator is exploring the possibility of starting a new business accelerator, designed to attract early-stage start-up companies to the Houghton area.
Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance Executive Director Jeff Ratcliffe explained to the Houghton County Board of Commissioners at their June meeting Tuesday that KEDA, along with Michigan Tech and the MTEC Smartzone, are looking to apply for a pair of grants from the state to start the project.
One grant would be for $500,000 that would go towards supporting an effort to establish an accelerator focused on advanced materials and manufacturing processes.
The second, a $300,000 grant, will help establish a seed fund.
Ratcliffe said this is an effort by the Smartzone to ramp up their operations from simply assisting to start technology-based companies to focusing on identifying existing start-up companies and bring them to the area.
Those companies would then have access to Michigan Tech to help bring them to the next level.
Ratcliffe said the MTEC Smartzone has been developing the idea of an accelerator for some time and are working on a feasibility study.
The County Board passed a resolution in support of the grant applications.
In other business, the board also approved the 2016 County Millage Rate of 6.2911 and approved a resolution authorizing the collection of the county’s taxes.
