The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is hosting its 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC), which offers a total of $50,000 to $200,000 in prize awards to organizations seeking to foster a national innovation support ecosystem to advance small business research and development (R&D) from ideas to commercial market.
Who: SBA welcomes Stage One submissions from a broad range of organizations from the United States and territories, including D.C. and Puerto Rico with a collaborative vision to nurture a national ecosystem for equitable access to entrepreneurship.
What: Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s 33 million small businesses, announced the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) offering a total of $50,000 to $200,000 in prize awards to organizations seeking to foster a national innovation support ecosystem to advance small business research and development (R&D) from ideas to the commercial market.
Prizes awarded in Two Stages
- Stage One: $50,000 in cash prizes awarded to organizations for ecosystem-building activities, including recruitment of new partners, and strengthening existing alliances among stakeholders (including public, private, non-profit, and academic partners). Contestants work collaboratively with chosen partners to bring additional resources, deepen network connections, and develop strategies to support STEM/R&D-focused entrepreneurs and small businesses. SBA welcomes Stage One submissions from a broad range of organizations with a collaborative vision to nurture a national ecosystem for equitable access to entrepreneurship.
- Stage Two of the Competition offers an additional $50,000 to $150,000 in cash prizes to eligible Stage One winners to provide direct assistance to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and startups that are looking to commercialize their innovation, from R&D to the commercial market. A Federal agency partner may also elect to provide a Bonus Prize to one or more Stage One contestants focused on a priority area of the agency partner’s choice. Bonus Prize winners are awarded from the pool of Stage One contestants.
Note: The Competition is not intended to provide capital directly to companies for R&D projects.
Where & When: The Stage One application portal opens on January 8, 2024 for a six-week window, closing on February 16, 2024. SBA expects to award up to $3,000,000 in cash prizes for Stage One and intends to announce winners for Stage One by April 2024. Stage Two submission period is May 1 – June 28. SBA intends to announce winners for Stage Two by September 2024.
To access the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Guidelines and Application Portal, please visit https://www.americasseedfund.us/accelerators
