Ten new businesses receive EDGE grants from the Division of Small Business.
This is the seventh round of EDGE grant recipients. The Encouraging Development, Growth, and Expansion competition awards up to $50,000 to entrepreneurial business proposals and up to $100,000 for STEM.
Division Director Regina Mitchell says they get around 130 applicants each round.
“Our strongest competitors and the ones who tend to win are the ones who have a really clear story to tell and they can really explain why and how they will use the funding to really grow their business and expand their business and it’s very clear like, ‘we need this to do this, and that will help us to succeed to this level,” Mitchell says.
Winners this round include a biomechanics testing and technology company, a locally grown baled pine straw company, and an innovative establishment with a play area for kids and a café lounge for parents.
Doubly is a black and women-owned startup in the STEM category, receiving $100,000. Co-founder Jonetta White says they are in the early stages of development of a way to connect popular remote work tools.
“Remote work isn’t going away," White says. "But ultimately people need to feel connected in their workplaces, they need to be productive in their workplaces.”
Partner Mercedes Munn.
“We had this idea that said there should be a tech solution that integrates with whatever platform we're using, Teams, or Slack, or Zoom, to bridge this gap,” Munn says.
Droneversity is a black and women-owned business in the entrepreneurial category receiving a grant for an indoor facility for drone training. Founder Ashlee Cooper.
“I really wanted to be able to tell everyone about the opportunities that aren’t photography or warfare when it comes to drones being used in 27-plus industries," Cooper says.
Including this round, $5.0 million has been awarded to 80 promising Delaware small businesses since EDGE was first launched in 2019.
The next round of applications for EDGE grants opens September 1.
