AURP awarded $50,000 in prize money for equitable access for rural entrepreneurs in autonomous systems

WASHINGTON, DC and TUCSON, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / September 23, 2024 / The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today announced the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) has been selected as one of 44 Stage Two winners for the SBA 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC).

AURP will receive a $50,000 cash prize for its work as a Growth Accelerator Partner in supporting the launch, growth and scale of STEM/R&D-focused small businesses through its "RAIN" (Rural Autonomous Innovation Network).

As part of these SBA award funds, RAIN will leverage AURP's current university membership (AURP ecosystem partners known as the "The RAIN Makers"), plus supporting firms in rural EPSCOR states and other rural communities. View the RAIN Stage Two summary here.

"We are incredibly honored to receive Stage Two funding in the U.S. SBA's 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition," said Vickie Palmer, CEO of AURP. "We are additionally excited to unveil RAIN as a groundbreaking model for rural innovation. By leveraging the strengths of our university members and ecosystem partners, RAIN will build a powerful platform to support rural entrepreneurship in areas such as autonomous vehicles and robotics, both terrestrial and aerial. Our aim is to address the challenges faced by small tech businesses in rural regions and foster significant growth within these communities."

SBA's 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition catalyzes strategic innovation ecosystem building across the U.S. Over the last decade, SBA has awarded prizes totaling over $33 million to winners throughout the U.S. and U.S. territories. Learn more about the GAFC Stage One and Stage Two awardees in the 2024 GAFC Public Directory.

Last April, SBA selected AURP as a Stage One winner for the 2024 GAFC. AURP received a $50,000 cash prize for its impactful, inclusive approach to nurturing a collaborative national innovation ecosystem to advance small business R&D from ideas to the market.

2024 GAFC Stage One awards focused on strengthening ecosystem networks, while Stage Two prizes provide enhanced support to Growth Accelerator Partnerships as they play a crucial role in helping startups and small businesses scale, helping contribute to U.S. economic growth. These partnerships span public, private, nonprofit and academic institutions, fostering collaboration across industries and geographies.

"We thank our RAIN partners for supporting this project," said Brian Darmody, AURP Chief Strategy Officer. "Partner organizations for RAIN include InBIA, Federal Lab Consortium, AUTM, UIDP, EcoMap, Radically Rural, BBC Entrepreneurial Training & Consulting, MIT Venture Mentoring Service, UAS Angel Network and VentureWell."

At its 2024 International Conference in Bentonville, AR (Nov. 11-14), AURP will host a session (Wed., Nov. 13) on autonomous technologies supporting rural ecosystems. AURP's International Conference is hosted by the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation.

In 2025, AURP plans to support new partnerships with I-Corps nodes, Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funders and Small Business Development Centers (SBDC). These partnerships will engage AURP members in rural areas to host national workshops for rural autonomous small business entrepreneurs in Maryland, Alabama and North Dakota. A national RAIN workshop for autonomous entrepreneurs is planned for late 2025 in Maryland.

About AURP:
AURP is a non-profit international organization with offices in the Washington, D.C. area at the University of Maryland Discovery District; headquarters at the University of Arizona Tech Park in Tucson; and an office in Northern California. AURP focuses on creating communities of innovation and education for research parks, both operating and planned, plus innovation districts, incubators, accelerators and the businesses that support the research park industry. AURP and its global membership promote research, institute-industry relations and innovation districts to foster innovation and to facilitate the transfer of technology from such institutions to the private sector. Learn more: www.aurp.net

Media Contact:
Ken Berlack
AURP
kenberlack@aurp.net

SOURCE: AURP