East Central Ohio Tech gets grant for business start-ups
BYLINE: KATHY THOMPSON
Staff Writer
ZANESVILLE -- A $1.5 million grant was recently given to the East Central Ohio Tech Angel fund to boost its small business fund to encourage those in Appalachian counties to start their own businesses.
Carol Humphreys, director of the Muskingum County Business Incubator, said the money will encourage technology-based entrepreneurship in counties that are sometimes overlooked.
"It sometimes seems that the Appalachian counties are overlooked because there is an assumption that they don't have the technology or the opportunity," Humphreys said. "We want to change that mindset and provide all the assistance we can to help those communities and counties succeed."
Humphreys said the grant is part of a $6.5 million award from the State of Ohio to the Ohio University Voinovich Center for Leadership and Public Affairs and its collaborators within the Southeast Ohio Entrepreneurial Signature Program.
The fund is a contributed capital and "sidecar" private equity fund targeted by East Central Ohio technology companies.
"We're hoping to attract the best technology deals to East Central Ohio," Humphreys said. "While we will look at companies that want to start Web sites, those aren't really what we're looking for. Of course, we will help those companies however we can, but this is really dealing with sophisticated businesses that have ideas dealing with say, medical equipment or information technology."
Humphreys said companies that are "on the cutting edge," are the ones they would like to see.
The fund's purpose is to provide "one-stop-shop" for financing technology deals, to enable member co-investment alongside the fund and to provide deal-flow for and from business incubators in the East Central Ohio region.
There will also be a professional business manager who will help guide the companies through the process.
"We've got $125,000 that will be used for managing them through their due diligence and make sure they are completely prepared when they present their companies to the investment group," Humphreys said.
Currently Tuscarawas and Muskingum Counties are involved in the grant, but Humprheys said she encourages anyone with the other counties in the area to apply.
Those counties in the Appalachian region are Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Clermont, Columbiana, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton and Washington.
For additional information call Humphreys at 740-453-3649 or Harry Eadon at the Tuscarawas County Port Authority at 330-602-4422.
740-450-6753