Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Building Grants
MTC offers a variety of ongoing and new grant programs to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem across Missouri. The grant programs are driven by the strategies outlined in the Catalyzing Innovation: Strategies for Missouri to Drive Innovation and Entrepreneurship (the “Catalyzing Innovation Report”). Each grant program serves to create opportunities for entrepreneurship support organizations to develop and implement programs that fit into one, or more, of the five key strategies:
• Strategy One: Fund – Deploy greater levels of investment capital to help meet the demands of the growing entrepreneurial base.
• Strategy Two: Grow and Scale – Increase access to quality entrepreneurial support services throughout Missouri to ensure companies are able to grow and scale.
• Strategy Three: Launch and Cultivate – Take advantage of Missouri’s research strengths by converting the intellectual assets into market opportunities.
• Strategy Four: Inspire – Encourage more Missourians to participate in innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Strategy Five: Connect – Overcome physical and cultural barriers to better connect Missouri’s communities with each other and with the world.
Grant Programs Overview
Missouri Building Entrepreneurial Capacity (MOBEC) (FY24 – Grant Cycle Closed)
The MOBEC program deploys grant awards to non-profit entrepreneurial support entities to create more home-grown, high-tech companies, Missouri must support entrepreneurs and foster innovation. It is for this reason that the Missouri Building Entrepreneurial Capacity program (MOBEC) is a cornerstone of MTC’s investment strategy. Through the MOBEC grant program, MTC makes strategic investments that expand the support system for entrepreneurs that are commercializing new technologies or that enhance the capacity of Missouri to grow its innovation economy. For more information on MOBEC, click here.
Physical Infrastructure Grants (2024 Grant Cycle OPEN)
An entrepreneurial hub serves as a focal point where entrepreneurs can connect with a vast network of contacts, fostering relationships and collaborations. Consequently, MTC offers grants to ensure that entrepreneurs across the state can avail themselves of the necessary physical infrastructure (such as co-working spaces, office spaces with flexible leases, meeting rooms, etc.) to establish and expand their businesses. For more information, click HERE.
Regional Node Grant (2024 Grant Cycle OPEN)
To support the development of regional nodes across the state to allow entrepreneurs direct access to resources in their regions, MTC launched a Regional Node Planning Grant Program in the summer of 2023. The 2024 Regional Node Grant Program is intended to provide funds for the implementation or execution of each region’s strategy for the establishment or continued operations of regional entrepreneurial nodes. Recipients of a Regional Node Grant are not required to have applied for or been awarded a Regional Node Planning Grant. For more information, click HERE.