Partners Include US Ignite, Salt Lake City Department of Economic Development, Salt Lake Small Business Development Center, and Economic Development Agency
SALT LAKE CITY — December 7, 2021 — Venture Capital.org announced today its smart city accelerator program with partners US Ignite, the Salt Lake City Department of Economic Development, the Salt Lake Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Agency (EDA). The program, titled InnovateSLC, is funded in part by the EDA under project number 05-79-06069.
“The launch of this new three-year training opportunity for startups in Salt Lake City as part of US Ignite’s InnovateSLC Program marks an important and necessary step in leveraging the smart city market to fuel and scale local startups,” said Arnold Liyai, Program Manager at US Ignite. “It is thrilling to see this program start.”
The InnovateSLC Program, spanning three years, is designed to identify startups developing technology that contributes to smart city development, including big data, energy efficiency, and artificial intelligence, and assists them in accelerating go-to-market strategies, fundraising, and commercialization efforts.
“Venture Capital.org is excited to begin this new partnership with US Ignite. This is a huge opportunity for Salt Lake City startups in the smart city market space,” said Trent Christensen, CEO and President of Venture Capital.org. “This initiative will spark more exciting innovation and development of the smart city ecosystem, and we’re grateful to our partners for helping us move this effort forward.”
Each cohort will consist of five-to-seven startups, and each will receive up to 12 weeks of mentoring. Mentor teams will be led by a business advisor from the SBDC and supported by a team of Venture Capital.org mentors. The cohort will culminate with a demo day presentation to investors, including regional, angel, venture capital, and family office investors. The first cohort is expected to take place during Q1 2022, and a call for applications will begin shortly.
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