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Blog Category: Business incubator

Innovation in Austin, TX: EDA Investments Help Create Jobs and Industries of the Future

Submitted on July 3, 2012 - 1:00pm
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Matt Erskine, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, touring the Austin Technology Incubator

By Matt Erskine, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development

There is a lot of talk about innovation today, and how it can be leveraged to promote economic and job growth. In Austin, Texas, it’s more than just talk. Throughout the region, businesses are developing cutting-edge technologies, commercializing them, and—with the help of research parks, incubators, and other business support facilities—creating jobs.

Last week, I was in Austin to tour recent Obama administration EDA investments. Grants to the Austin Technology Incubator at the University of Texas, the Science, Technology, and Advanced Research (STAR) Park, and the Pecan Street Consortium are helping to spur high-tech commercialization and business development.

These investments are addressing two major issues for the Austin region - the creation of the next-generation smart grid technology infrastructure and the shortage of wet labs - to help create the jobs and industries of the future.

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Obama Administration Applauds Opening of Innovation Hub in Gainesville, Florida

Submitted on January 11, 2012 - 4:30pm
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View of incubation hub lobby from balcony

Guest blog post by U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John R. Fernandez

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, Gainesville Mayor Craig Lowe, and University of Florida President J. Bernard Machen, all gathered for the opening of the Florida Innovation Hub on January 11, 2012. I was proud to address the large crowd that was here to support the unveiling of a new tech business incubator that will help entrepreneurs, innovators, and start-up companies commercialize their research and bring it into the marketplace.

As Florida seeks to diversify beyond tourism and agriculture, and transition to a more innovation-based economy, the $8.2 million grant that the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) invested in the University of Florida in Gainesville to build this facility will promote a more diverse economy in the state. It will lead to the creation of new higher-skill, living-wage jobs that are vital to the prosperity of this region. This incubator is expected to create 300 jobs and generate $30 million in private investment.

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U.S. EDA Supports Downtown Business HUB in California’s San Joaquin Valley

Submitted on June 8, 2011 - 10:30am
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Image of video clip showing Guevara

Guest blog by Thomas Guevara, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Affairs, U.S. Economic Development Administration

On June 7, 2011, I was honored to join U.S. Congressman and Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Jeff Denham (CA-19), Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, and Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Dora Westerlund for the ribbon-cutting for the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation’s Downtown Business HUB (DBH). The innovative business incubator facility located in Fresno, California will provide local entrepreneurs of various ethnicities the opportunity to develop and grow their ideas for new products and services to create the economy of the future.

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