SEASIDE, Ca., October 15, 2019 – California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) has been selected to receive funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) to help fund a new virtual startup incubator designed to serve entrepreneurs in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties.

The $426,035 EDA grant, along with local matching funds from Union Bank, Taylor Farms, Wells Fargo Bank, City National Bank, the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, the City of Salinas and the City of Seaside, provides over $852,070 to fund the creation of Startup Monterey Bay Launchpad.

Startup Monterey Bay Launchpad builds on the success of the Startup Monterey Bay Annual Cycle of Innovation (ACI) events hosted by the Institute for Innovation & Economic Development (iiED) at CSUMB. The ACI consists of five core programs for the Monterey Bay region: Startup Hackathon, Startup Weekend, Startup Challenge, Startup Investment and Community Capital Expo and the monthly Startup Tech Meetups. The launchpad will also provide technical assistance, business assistance, mentorship, education and access to resources for startup companies in the region.

“This is the culmination of years of hard work and collaboration between the CSUMB’s College of Business and regional partners,” said CSUMB College of Business Dean, Shyam Kamath. “I want to thank the EDA for their faith in our programs and our community partners for their funding support of this important community program.”

Department of Commerce EDA Project Number: 07-79-07517/113182.