A $1M federal grant, supported by Innovate Alabama, aims to incentivize innovation for women- and minority-owned small businesses
From left, Olessia Smotrova, president and CEO, OST Global Solutions Inc.; Charisse Stokes, executive director, The Alabama Collective; Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO, Innovate Alabama; Lisa Davis Mays, CEO, The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship; and Stacia Roberson, director of the Alabama Office of Minority Affairs. (6xtysix Media)
TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY – The Small Business Administration recently awarded a $1 million, five-year contract under the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program to Team Catalyst, consisting of The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship, The Alabama Collective and the GovCon Incubator by OST Global Solutions.
“We are honored to receive this award and excited about the impact it will have on our efforts to create lasting opportunities for HBCU students and alumni,” said Charisse Stokes, executive director, The Alabama Collective. “This funding allows us to deepen our commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in underrepresented communities. By developing programs that equip HBCU faculty, researchers and entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed, we’re not only driving economic growth but also helping to ensure that Alabama remains a leader in tech innovation for years to come.”
The Catalyst and The Alabama Collective have a proven track record of supporting underserved and underrepresented communities. Through federal program funding, these groups will continue to offer expert training and resources to innovators across the state, empowering them to champion their research and expand innovative ideas that drive economic growth in Alabama.
The team was endorsed by Gov. Kay Ivey, who emphasized the importance of technology and innovation for the state’s future.
“Alabama has always had a rich tradition of developing technologies to move our state forward,” Ivey said. “Now more than ever, we must capitalize on future opportunities by engaging our state’s trailblazers to discuss new ideas and policies that support entrepreneurship, economic development and jobs.”
The objective of the FAST Program is to improve outcomes for underserved communities by increasing participation from woman-owned, rural-based and socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which are known as America’s Seed Fund. This program invests more than $4 billion into 4,000 small businesses annually, without equity or intellectual property ownership taken by the government.
“America’s Seed Fund, powered by the SBA and fueled by 11 federal agencies’ SBIR and STTR programs, is the largest source of early-stage funding in the world,” said Isabel Guzman, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. “With FAST, we have now expanded our entrepreneurial ecosystem to nearly every state so that entrepreneurs with great ideas can invent it, commercialize it and build it with America’s Seed Fund in every corner of America.”
The Catalyst and Alabama Collective have a history of providing resources to rural, underserved and underrepresented communities through their existing programming to include The Alabama Collective’s HBCU Innovation Experience across the state of Alabama. The Catalyst bridges the gap and helps technology startups access resources and specialized training. To support the SBIR/STTR program, The Alabama Collective brings robust infrastructure, experienced leadership and extensive partnerships with Alabama’s 14 HBCUs. The GovConIncubator brings six years of experience running an SBIR/STTR Proposal Lab, leveraging an innovative proposal development process used to help win more than $26 billion in funded grants and contracts for small and large business clients.
Lisa Davis Mays, CEO of The Catalyst Center, announced the $1 million grant during a ceremony last week at Tuskegee University as part of the Alabama Collective’s HBCU Innovation Experience: Innovation Power Hour. The Innovation Power Hours are sessions designed to foster entrepreneurship, technology and innovation among HBCU students and alumni, and provide featured hands-on workshops, networking and pitch competitions.
“Participants (in the Innovation Power Hours) have the chance to connect directly with business leaders, mentors and learn strategies that will help them to be successful in technology, research and small business development,” Stokes said.
“If we’re gonna say that we are here for all entrepreneurs and small business owners, that has to mean all entrepreneurs,” Mays said. “Which looks like equitable access to the tools and resources needed for small business owners to succeed, to grow and, in this case, to really create innovations and research opportunities to have access to funding to change the world, to make the world better.”
Innovate Alabama, the state’s first statewide public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology and innovation, has committed $500,000 to fund the FAST program’s match requirement. In addition, the Innovate Alabama SBIR/STTR Supplemental Grant Program has deployed more than $14 million in grant funding to 68 Alabama small businesses to support small businesses and university inventors whose proven business models and technologies will help advance Alabama’s regional and national economic footprint.
“Innovate Alabama is committed to elevating all of our state’s entrepreneurs, including women, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and those residing in rural communities, making this partnership in clear alignment with our mission and goals,” said Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO of Innovate Alabama. “We hope that this investment will strengthen and inspire economic development across the state, regardless of a founder’s background.”
Innovate Alabama is Alabama’s first statewide public-private partnership focused on entrepreneurship, technology and innovation. Its mission is to help innovators grow roots in Alabama. Innovate Alabama aims to create a resilient, inclusive and robust economy by collaborating across sectors to advance industries, drive technology and facilitate an environment where innovation and entrepreneurship thrive.
The SBIR/STTR Proposal Lab will serve Alabama’s 67 counties, with a focus on the state’s 14 HBCUs. The Lab is a training program focused on proposal development, team creation and commercialization strategies to remove barriers to application for underserved entrepreneurs.
“In our outreach efforts, we will specifically target HBCU faculty, researchers and entrepreneurs, including small, disadvantaged businesses and women-owned small businesses,” Crutchfield said. “We are very focused on those organizations, particularly in our supplemental grant program where we’re encouraging those organizations to do more around research and bring that technology and research to the state of Alabama.”
Additionally, The Lab will provide individualized mentoring and access to a network of industry experts. Its technical assistance will provide detailed guidance on developing high-quality SBIR/STTR proposals, leveraging artificial intelligence and agile principles.
“Through the partnership we have with Innovate Alabama, we are proud to strengthen our partnership with all HBCUs, including Tuskegee University,” Stokes said. “This collaboration ensures that Alabama’s Black innovators have a pipeline to resources, support, and it also helps to foster diversity and leadership in our innovation economy. Together with the support of Gov. Kay Ivey and our incredible partners, we’re paving the way for innovation and growth in the state of Alabama.”
From left, Cynthia Crutchfield, CEO, Innovate Alabama; Charisse Stokes, executive director, The Alabama Collective; and Stacia Roberson, director of the Alabama Office of Minority Affairs. (Anthony Cook / Alabama News Center)
