Commerce awards $2.6 million in South Carolina Innovation Challenge grants

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina Department of Commerce is awarding $2.6 million in a second round of funding to 19 organizations across the state to further innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-based economic development.

As part of its efforts to support and grow an innovative, technology-based and entrepreneurial business environment, the Department of Commerce launched the state's first Office of Innovation in the fall of 2013. In 2014, the Department of Commerce awarded its inaugural round of innovation grants to 14 organizations across the state and announced a second round last September.

The South Carolina Innovation Challenge solicits proposals for projects that focus on fostering technology-based economic development, entrepreneurship and innovation in South Carolina communities through university collaboration, local government participation or public-private partnerships. Projects are required to address one or more goals of the South Carolina Innovation Plan.

For the second round of grants, nearly 60 submissions totaled $10.5 million in requests. Cities, county offices, chambers of commerce, universities, incubators and accelerators applied for funding. A project could be awarded a maximum of $250,000 in grant funds, with a required dollar-for-dollar match of non-state-appropriated funds.

Projects awarded will impact Aiken, Anderson, Charleston, Darlington, Florence, Greenville, Horry, Richland, Spartanburg, Sumter and York counties, with several projects making statewide impact. Projects are outcomes-oriented, and focus on building stronger entrepreneurs and companies, growing startup communities, training technology talent and providing education and access to funding for startups in both rural and urban areas of the state:

• The 5th T Innovation Group - Conway Innovation Center - $150,000
  The Conway Innovation Center is a technology incubator in downtown Conway, S.C. aimed at supporting high-growth companies, and is part of the Clemson University Technology Villages program.
• Charleston Digital Corridor Foundation - Flagship3 Incubator (FS3) - $250,000
   Flagship3 Incubator is an expansion of the Charleston Digital Corridor's technology hub, which serves high-growth firms. It will be the anchor of Charleston's new Innovation District.
• City of Anderson - e-Merge @ the Garage programs - $125,000
   Located in downtown Anderson, e-Merge @ the Garage is the city's technology and entrepreneurship center supporting startup company founders and budding entrepreneurs and technology workers with company services, training and community-building activities.
• City of Spartanburg - Project Hub Relocation and Expansion - $50,000
  Project Hub is a makerspace community tool share and meeting space that will locate in downtown Spartanburg and be upfitted with new technologies to track data, projects and collaborations at the center.
• Florence Downtown Development Corporation - North Dargan Innovation Center - $150,000
  North Dargan Innovation Center is a business incubator in downtown Florence offering entrepreneurial support, CodeFlo technology training programs and community networking opportunities.
• Grand Strand Technology Council (GSTC) - Startup.SC - $100,000
  Startup.SC fosters technology startups in Horry and Georgetown counties, and assists growth-minded entrepreneurs with access to mentors and funders, while helping grow the area's entrepreneurial community.
• Greenville Chamber of Commerce - NEXT Ecosystem Acceleration - $250,000
  The NEXT Ecosystem Acceleration project supports growth of Greenville's innovation ecosystem with new infrastructure, and new, entrepreneur-targeted facilities and services that will be an extension of the existing NEXT Innovation Center.
• The Harbor Entrepreneur Center - The Harbor Entrepreneur Center - $250,000
  The Harbor Entrepreneur Center creates collision throughout the entrepreneur community in Mt. Pleasant, downtown Charleston and Summerville. Through programs and events, entrepreneurs and business founders are connected with mentors, experts, investors, and a peer group of supportive founders.
• Hartsville Community Development Foundation - Duke Energy Center for Innovation Phase III - $100,000
  The Duke Energy Center for Innovation is a Clemson University Technology Villages incubator in downtown Hartsville.
• The Institute for Leadership & Professional Excellence at Columbia College - South Carolina's Women's Entrepreneurship Network (SCWEN) - $100,000
  The South Carolina Women's Entrepreneurial Network (SCWEN) will connect and accelerate the growth of women-owned startup and growth businesses throughout South Carolina via a statewide business center network, entrepreneurial development programs, a mentor program and access to capital for companies.
• IT-oLogy - PRISM - $100,000
  PRISM will expand IT-ology's Cyber Saturday program to multiple new locations throughout South Carolina, partnering with existing and new innovation programs statewide. Cyber Saturday provides middle and high school students the opportunity to discover the variety of paths into the IT profession.
• Pickens Revitalization Association - Pickens Innovation Center- $50,000
  The Pickens Innovation Center is a Clemson University Technology Villages program that will locate in downtown Pickens and support entrepreneurs with early company formation, development and commercialization of advanced or novel emerging technologies or services.
• Rock Hill Economic Development Corporation (RHEDC) - Knowledge Park Innovation Center: Phase II - $250,000
  The Knowledge Park Innovation Center Phase II (KPIC) will continue technology talent development programs, and attract and grow technology-intensive businesses as part of Rock Hill's Knowledge Park collaborative initiative.
• Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments - Santee-Lynches Ecosystem for Enterprise Development (SEED) - $20,000
  Santee Lynches Ecosystem for Enterprise Development (SEED) will be an open design ecosystem of supportive services for entrepreneurs in the Santee Lynches region. The virtual hub and events will weave the services together for manufacturing, retail, and creative services start-ups in the four counties of the Santee-Lynches region.
• SOCO - SOCO - Columbia's Creative Community - $100,000
  SOCO is a Columbia-area hub that fosters design and development companies and talent to support the entrepreneurial community in the Midlands. SOCO's User Experience (UX) Accelerator services early stage companies by providing in-house design talent, nationally-recognized mentors from companies such as Google Ventures and Sparkbox, intensive, 30-day design sprints, and partnerships with local investors to provide companies access to capital.
• South Carolina Biotechnology Industry Organization (SCBIO) - SCBIO Life Science Startup in a Box - $100,000
  SCBIO Life Science Company Startup In a Box programs will move South Carolina bio and life sciences technology to market by helping entrepreneurs start and connect companies to resources, funding and industry partners
• South Carolina Governor's School for Science & Mathematical (GSSM) Foundation -iTEAMS Xtreme and CREATEng - $225,000
  The South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM) will expand its iTEAMS Xtreme and CREATEng talent development weeklong summer camp programs to five additional counties and over 700 additional students in 7-9th grades.
• University of South Carolina Aiken - Aiken Innovation Project - $80,000
  The Aiken Innovation Project will formalize the entrepreneurial ecosystem among multiple public and private partners in the Aiken region by building a network of support for entrepreneurs through programing and recruitment, as well as the development of an angel investor network.
• University of South Carolina/Columbia Technology Incubator - Columbia Startup Hub - $200,000
  The Columbia Startup Hub will align the entrepreneurial ecosystem and continue providing an accelerated pathway for startups to move from idea to successful venture, as well as support commercialization of research and public-private collaboration in the Midlands and beyond.