New Grant to Assist Wyoming Entrepreneurs with Research and Development

The Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network has received a $125,000 grant to provide specialized training, mentoring, and technical assistance for research and development-focused small businesses. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Federal and State Technology (FAST) grant seeks to improve outcomes in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs for underserved communities by increasing participation from rural, women-owned, and socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses.

Last year alone, the Wyoming SBDC Network’s SBIR/STTR Initiative helped entrepreneurs in our state secure more than $3.6 million in government funding for research and development. The SBIR/STTR programs provide funding to help entrepreneurs and small business owners research, develop, and commercialize their innovations. Entrepreneurs can also apply for a $5,000 contract — which UW funds through a grant from the Wyoming Business Council — to get started with the SBIR/STTR process.

“The FAST award allows the Wyoming SBDC Network to provide specialized training, education, and guidance that technology development companies otherwise may not have access to,” says Jill Kline, state director of the Wyoming SBDC Network. “This grant creates an even more robust set of services that support these high tech innovations.”

This is the eighth year in a row that the Wyoming SBDC Network has received this highly-competitive grant. Only 32 other FAST grants were awarded this year.

To sign up for no-cost, confidential assistance through the Wyoming SBIR/STTR Initiative, click here.