At long last: entrepreneurship support in Maine at a sustainable scale. The Blackstone Charitable Foundation announcement on Oct. 7 of a $3 million grant to Maine to support existing entrepreneurship programs has been a long time coming. But this support enables Maine to support its entrepreneurs at a level commensurate with our long-standing investment in research and development. And, since R&D without commercialization, without entrepreneurship, does not by itself create economic growth, Mainers who have been advocating the importance of entrepreneurship to the state’s growth are welcoming Blackstone with open arms.
A bit of history will help put this announcement in context. In the late 1990s, the Maine state legislature inaugurated several programs to promote economic growth in the state through investments in innovation. These included the Maine Technology Institute, a funding source for emerging technology-based companies, the Patent Program to assist inventors with intellectual property, the Maine Economic Improvement Fund and the Maine Biomedical Fund to support research and development, and the Applied Technology Development Centers to start seven technology incubators around the state.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Blackstone funding brings support for Maine's rural entrepreneurship to scale - Mass High Tech Business News
Author:
Catherine S. Renault
