Maryland will launch a new small business program with the help of an influx of federal dollars.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury awarded the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) $10 million to help small businesses connect with technology, legal and other services. TEDCO CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall hopes the $10 million program can lead to participating companies adding 25,000 employees and $630 million in revenue over five years.
Maryland will use the award to establish the Business Resource Information, Development, and Guidance Ecosystem (BRIDGE) program. The BRIDGE program will focus on advising small businesses so they can apply for loans and other investments. TEDCO hopes to help a wide swath of companies, from low-technology “main street businesses” to startups, LeMaile-Stovall said. The organization typically focuses on helping technology companies through direct investment and other opportunities.
The University of Maryland, College Park, is partnering with TEDCO to administer the program. The two state institutions will contribute a combined $2.2 million in matching funds. The university’s main role will be to give companies resources through its Small Business Development Center. Companies that are too small for traditional TEDCO support would especially benefit from the university’s expertise, LeMaile-Stovall said.
“It’s about bridging those businesses to the resources they need,” LeMaile-Stovall said. “Whether that's a lawyer, whether it is technology, whether that's literacy, whether it's the office, you know, they need an accountant or a lawyer.”
The program's reach will extend into the surrounding region by offering resources to companies aiming to grow not only in Maryland but in nearby Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. Universities in participating states, like George Mason University in Virginia and Howard University in D.C., will contribute expertise to TEDCO. That focus on collaboration across state lines stood out to the federal government, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said. He emphasized that many small businesses sell products to people across the country through the power of online advertising.
"We were trying to emphasize groups and jurisdictions like Maryland, where they can afford to invest in the small business ecosystem in their own states, but they value building out a stronger regional small business ecosystem as well," Adeyemo said.
The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, a federal law intended to help the country deal with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. The law expanded many economic stimulus programs, such as the $50 million TEDCO received through the State Small Business Credit Incentive to invest money in startups. Companies can often struggle to navigate many of these incentives, LeMaile-Stovall said, but he hopes this new batch of funding can increase TEDCO’s visibility.
“Time is the most limiting factor any entrepreneur has," LeMaile-Stovall said. “They don’t have the time or capacity to do Google searches to find various funding programs.”
