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Washington Gains Rural Tech Fund, Pension VC Investments

April 04, 2003
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The past week has marked the beginning of two public initiatives in Washington State to increase the availability of financing for technology firms.

Rural Technology Loan Fund

The Washington Technology Center, in partnership with the Evergreen Community Development Association, has established a Rural Technology Loan Fund to assist in the creation of family wage sustainable technology jobs that help alleviate poverty in rural communities in the state. The program is designed to provide gap financing or late-stage product development loans for implementation of value-added production processes and/or technology development.

Loan funds may be used for development costs for patented technology, working capital equipment purchase, real estate, improving production processes or engineering costs. Rural technology-based companies in Washington, including start-ups and existing businesses, are eligible to apply.

Applicants must meet loan criteria and have a strong business plan. For instance, loans for new technology are only available for technology that is patented, tested and ready for market entry. Loans for product development are available to applicants who can obtain matching funds from state, federal or personal resources. Details about the program are found at: http://www.watechcenter.org/business/rtlf.html

Early Stage Investments by State Pension Fund

On March 26, the Board of Directors for the Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) unanimously approved a new policy statement to invest a still-to-be-determined minimum amount or percentage in Washington-based start-ups. According to a March 27 Seattle Post Intelligencer article, the move by the state pension fund is intended to help the state's technology, biotechnology and manufacturing sectors.

Details for the policy's implementation remain to be fleshed out, but the impact on the $48 billion fund's portfolio should be significant. WSIB had just under $62 million invested in 69 Washington companies through its private equity partnerships.

More information on WSIB is available at: http://www.sib.wa.gov/

Washington