(COLORADO) — Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) announced 56 grants have been awarded to small businesses throughout Colorado through the Small Business Accelerated Growth Program.
The 56 recipients were selected from more than 100 small business owners who completed an “Access to Capital” training as part of the Small Business Accelerated Growth Program.
According to the press release, A total of $280,000 has been distributed as the first of two grant opportunities for participants of the Access to Capital training. Five of those businesses were located in Colorado Springs, and one of them Congenial Consulting said the grants mean a lot.
“I am a relatively new business. I actually started right before covid and there were a lot of things going on now I’m switching back to face-to-face trainings or our in-person trainings,” said Elisha Stewart, CEO of Congenial Consulting “So it means a lot cause I get to take a breath and use some of it for saving, some of it for marketing some it for teacher retention so it means a lot.”
In addition to the 56 grants awarded to small business owners this month, an additional $1,070,000 in grant funding will be made available to future graduates of the Small Business Accelerated Growth Program. The funding for these grants has been set aside from the Colorado Startup Loan Fund, so that program participants may implement what they learn. The next two rounds of grants are expected to be awarded in March, including another 54 grants of $5,000 each to participants of the Access to Capital training pathway and 40 grants of $8,000 each to participants of the Market Research training pathway.
“I understand what it’s like to start and grow a business and we are thrilled to be able to provide this grant to small business owners, entrepreneurs, and veterans across Colorado,” said Governor Polis. “These exciting grants build upon our work boosting Colorado’s strong economy and supporting small businesses.”
