WEDC is sponsoring the We’re All Innovating Contest to recognize and promote the creative ways startups and small businesses are adapting to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contest will provide a total of $3 million to approximately 195 winners selected through a competitive process to support new business models and technological innovations, from specific health-related solutions to technology that addresses how we’re changing the way we live, learn and work. Top winners in the categories will receive a maximum of $68,000 to take their ideas forward.
The contest aims to provide funding for both new and existing companies that have introduced innovations responding to direct health and economic impacts of COVID-19; launching new innovations, including business models and best practices for operating during COVID-19; and providing access to capital statewide, including rurally located and ethnically diverse entrepreneurs.
Funding for the contest will come from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The competition is open to new and established businesses with 50 or fewer employees.
Businesses may enter in one of the following categories of innovation:
- Technology innovation to address COVID-19 impacts on health
- Technology innovation to address COVID-19 impacts on businesses
- Service and business operation innovations to respond to COVID-19 disruption
The deadline to apply is 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020.
