Ninth round of Delaware EDGE grant winners announced, supports small businesses
HARBESON, Del.- Delaware Dynamix in Harbeson specializes in everything gymnastics, fulfilling a need for more of those services in the area.
Now as an eight round Delaware EDGE grant recipient, the small business now has a little extra help in that effort. “The EDGE grant kind of enabled us to do more than we otherwise would not have been able to do. Without it, we would’ve just focused on the most basic gymnastics for the typical customers,” Co-Owner Susan Guiteras said.
EDGE stands for Encouraging Development, Growth, and Expansion. Funding comes from the Delaware Division of Small Business. The matching grant program allows businesses to spend funds on a variety of expenses from marketing to purchasing new equipment. Businesses who have been operating less than seven years and with no more than 10 employees are eligible to apply.
Tuesday, Delaware Dynamix hosted an awards ceremony for the 10 winners of the Fall 2023 EDGE Grant Competition. The Delaware Division of Small Business said that this round of the competition was the stiffest one yet. Five STEM-based companies received up to $100,000 and five Entrepreneur Class businesses received up to $50,000.
Governor John Carney said the program is crucial, as small businesses are the engine of job growth and economic development. “When you think about the number of small businesses and the number of people working for those small businesses, it’s about half of the employed population in our state which is closing in on around a half a million people,” Governor Carney said. “The government has struggled over the years to figure out ways to help because each business has a different challenge. They all need resources to take that next step and that’s really what the EDGE Grant program provides.”
Guiteras told 47ABC that the grant funding will allow them to purchase new equipment, provide additional staff training, and help make their programming more inclusive. “We’re trying to tweak the lessons a little bit to be fun for those kids that aren’t necessarily here because they want to learn a perfect cartwheel but just want to flip, run, and get strong. We also want to work with a consultant to tailor program to accommodate special needs clients so that when we do it, we do it right,” she said.
Marin’s Med in Georgetown is also a grant recipient in the latest round. The innovative prosthetics company is developing a prototype to assist those with limb loss. “When I first became an amputee, I was struggling to find a device that would last as long as I last. At least as long as a human hand or arm would last,” Co-Founder & CTO Darryl DuBre said. “We’re now going to be able to use that funding to get us to the marketable product that we will be able to provide.”
Including this around, more than $5 million has been awarded to 90 Delaware small businesses since 2019.
The first EDGE Grant competition for 2024 began taking applications on February 1st. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 1st.
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