Five applicants were awarded $20,000 V-Quad ETAP grants.
On Monday, the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) announced the 2022 V-Quad Entrepreneurs Technical Assistance Program grant award winners. Five applicants were awarded $20,000 V-Quad ETAP grants in collaboration with MDA’s Office of Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship and MDA’s Energy and Natural Resources Division.
MDA Deputy Executive Director Laura Hipp said MDA congratulates the winners of these grants, and they look forward to the success of these projects.
“This next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs is the future of industry and will help build stronger communities and a stronger economy for Mississippi,” Hipp said.
Winners of the 2022 V-Quad ETAP grants include:
- C & H Safety and Security
- College of Architecture, Art and Design, Mississippi State University
- JEF Advanced Technologies
- Department of Sustainable Bioproducts, Mississippi State University
- A-Z Farmer’s Market Project
“The grants will be used by the five teams to receive technical assistance from one of Mississippi’s four research universities – the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Jackson State University and the University of Southern Mississippi,” MDA said in a release. “Teams receiving ETAP grants will be paired with a relevant research university to solve specific technical challenges posed by the applicants.”
The five teams will have up to nine months from the award date to complete their proposed tasks.
“Mississippi has a strong research and industrial base in energy and agricultural,” MDA said. “There is a tremendous potential to spawn innovative technologies with the right entrepreneurial ecosystem in place. The Mississippi V-Quad is a virtual incubator network that links research universities, non-profit organizations, and state and federal government assets in Mississippi to spur entrepreneurial activity in energy and agriculture technologies.”
The goals of the Mississippi V-Quad program include:
- Increase identification of “commercializable” ideas and research
- Increase the number of commercializable technologies and patentable inventions
- Increase the amount of SBIR/STTR and Angel/VC funding to researchers and new companies working to commercialize their technologies
- Increase the density and engagement of the regional and national ecosystem contact (corporate partners, accelerators, incubators, subject matter experts, mentors, researchers, and local and national entrepreneurial networks.)
- Attract investors to Mississippi companies.
Anne Summerhays
