Fifty-four small and midsize companies from around Michigan have been selected to receive business development support through the Pure Michigan Business Connect Economic Gardening Pilot Program offered by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. MEDC CEO and President Michael A. Finney announced.
The program will be administered through the Cassopolis-based Edward Lowe Foundation and will include four areas of support: strategy and management; market research/competitive intelligence; Internet and social media strategy; and geographical information systems to help identify potential customers in other states.
“The goal of this program is to help these second-stage companies grow and in turn, generate new private investment and create new jobs for Michigan,” Finney said. “The program is part of our toolkit for economic gardening that’s built on Michigan’s broad asset base of strong corporate enterprises, innovative entrepreneurs and rich technology resources.”
“Our experience shows us that second-stage companies exposed to economic gardening techniques grow at faster rates than their peers,” said Penny Lewandowski, director of entrepreneurship development at the Edward Lowe Foundation. “MEDC’s support of the pilot program is exciting news for Michigan’s second-stagers – and a clear indication of the commitment our state has made to the next generation of Michigan success stories.”
The 54 companies were selected by an independent review board from a pool of 108 nominees submitted by local economic development representatives from throughout Michigan.
The companies were chosen based on the type and size of the markets they serve, their growth potential and their likelihood of benefiting from the service.
Each company’s CEO will be paired with a Strategic Research Team for a total of 35 hours spread across all four members of the team. The team works with the CEO to determine the specific areas of need and then supplies the CEO with relevant and actionable information about their competitors, markets and customers. Each company engagement is expected to take a total of two to three weeks to complete.