(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
October 23, 2024
Spruce Root wins stage two of the U.S. SBA’s 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition
$150,000 awarded in prize money for equitable access to entrepreneurship
Dzantik'i Heeni (Juneau, Alaska) — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced late September that Spruce Root is a Stage Two winner for the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC).
Spruce Root will receive a $150,000 cash prize for its approach to nurturing a collaborative national innovation ecosystem to advance small business research and development from the idea stage to the market.
“This Growth Accelerator Fund Competition prize will build on Spruce Root’s work over the last decade to build strong partnerships and expand access to opportunities and capital for underserved entrepreneurs,” Spruce Root Executive Director Alana Peterson said. “Spruce Root will grow our network of mentors to provide STEM- and Indigenous-based training and capital to doing business in Southeast Alaska.”
Spruce Root was also awarded $50,000 as a Stage One winner.
By fostering connections between entrepreneurs, mentors, partners, philanthropies, corporations, investors and other shared resources, the competition catalyzes strategic ecosystem partnerships to build community and organizational capacity for the successful launch, growth, and scale of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (or STEM)-based entrepreneurs.
Spruce Root’s award-winning model will strengthen our capacity to coordinate partnerships across a complex network of organizations in the region and beyond. The award will enable Spruce Root to conduct research and draw on expertise and lessons learned from others who experienced success piloting innovative models to invest in undercapitalized communities.
To learn more about Stage Two opportunities and to access the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Guidelines, please visit https://www.americasseedfund.us/accelerators
Please contact Spruce Root Communications Specialist Tripp J Crouse for more information by calling 907-306-6475 or emailing tripp@spruceroot.org.
About Spruce Root: Spruce Root is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) driving a regenerative economy across Southeast Alaska. We provide small business support, training, and affordable financing to empower communities in forging futures grounded in this uniquely Indigenous place. For more information about Spruce Root, go to spruceroot.org.
Spruce Root is an equal opportunity provider. Spruce Root does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.
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