The Red River Regional Council is offering assistance to rural technology ventures through the Rural Tech Ventures Program, a project funded through a Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The program provides development assitance to technology ventures located in rural communities in North Dakota in need of business pans, market analysis and research, feasibility studies and other development projects. the program also assists entrepreneurs in preparing them to access capital and in raising their level of knowledge and sophistication in working with potential investors and economic development groups.
Technical assitance is provided through the Center for Innovation at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Grant funds are available to support the project with a match provided by the business. The match required varies based on the type of assitance needed. Larger projects may require a 25 percent match from the business or entrepreneur, allowing a $1 investment from the business to access $3 from the grant fund for projects, up to $15,000. More narrowly defined projects, or those with project totals less than $1000, may require a nominal fee. Applications are evaluated based on the viability of the tech-based venture and the objectives of the project.
To be eligible for the program, the technology enterprise or entrepreneur must meet the following criteria:
- Located in a rural area or city up to 50,000
- Fewer than 50 employees
- Expected annual gross revenue of less than $1 million.
For more information on the Rural Tech Ventures Initiative, contact Brenda Sorenson at the Center for Innovation, (701) 777-3132; email brenda@innovators.net |
