Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its Walmart Foundation on Thursday pledged $10 million to innovation in American manufacturing.
The announcement of the innovation fund’s creation was made by Wal-Mart president and CEO Bill Simon at the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, D.C.
The five-year program will work in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and will launch in March. The fund will provide grants to innovators in the manufacturing sector and seek to “create new processes, ideas and jobs that support America’s growing manufacturing footprint,” according to a news release.
“If we want to grow manufacturing and help rebuild America’s middle class, we need the brightest minds in our universities, in our think tanks, and in our towns to tackle obstacles to U.S. manufacturing,” Simon said. “The $10 million fund will identify and award leaders in manufacturing innovation and help us all work together to create opportunity.”
Last year, Wal-Mart pledged to buy an additional $50 billion in American products each year for the next 10 years.