ASBTDC Gets $200K Grant to Help Innovative Small Businesses

(Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center)

The Arkansas Small Business & Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock recently received $200,000 to support innovative small businesses.

The ASBTDC is one of only five centers in the country to receive this grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The center will use the grant to continue providing one-on-one mentoring to university researchers and small tech companies looking to apply for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer grants and contracts.

The center also plans to hold 16 educational events designed to increase the number of SBIR/STTR applicants from Arkansas. Participants will learn about commercial strategy development, market research and grant proposal writing.

The funding comes from the SBA’s Federal and State Technology Partnership (FAST) Program. 

“FAST partners fill an important role on the state level, providing training, financial and technical assistance for small, advanced technology businesses, by helping them navigate federally-funded innovation and R&D programs,” SBA Administrator Linda McMahon said in a news release. 

The program also emphasizes fostering participation from women-owned and socially and economically disadvantaged firms in the SBIR/STTR programs.