ASBTDC Awarded $200K FAST Grant to Provide Services for Arkansas Entrepreneurs
The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock has received a $200,000 grant to provide outreach, education, and mentoring for technology-based startup companies in Arkansas.
ASBTDC was among 49 organizations that received a total of $9 million in funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to support startups through specialized training, mentoring, and technical assistance under the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program.
鈥淎t a time when we are seeing historic highs in our entrepreneurial activity with a small business boom, investing in America鈥檚 innovative startups is a top priority,鈥� said Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the Small Business Administration. 鈥滱merica鈥檚 Seed Fund, powered by the SBA and fueled by 11 federal agencies鈥� SBIR and STTR programs, is the largest source of early-stage funding in the world. With FAST, we have now expanded our entrepreneurial ecosystem to nearly every state so that entrepreneurs with great ideas can invent it, commercialize it, and build it with America鈥檚 Seed Fund in every corner of America.鈥�
The objective of the FAST program is to improve outcomes for underserved communities by increasing participation from woman-owned, rural-based, or socially or economically disadvantaged small businesses through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, which are known as America鈥檚 Seed Fund.
鈥淲e are honored to again receive the SBA鈥檚 FAST grant, which allows us to extend our support for Arkansas small businesses and innovators,鈥� said Laura Fine, ASBTDC state director. 鈥淭his funding enables us to reach more entrepreneurs across the state and empower them to pursue federal research funding opportunities through the SBIR/STTR programs.鈥�
ASBTDC will use the FAST grant funding to guide research-based companies as they seek to commercialize new technologies. The center helps Arkansas companies prepare competitive America鈥檚 Seed Fund proposals for different federal agencies and apply for state-level technology commercialization funding. An important part of the application process is the deep market research ASBTDC provides about the state of the art and target industries.
In the next year, ASBTDC plans to mentor 60 entrepreneurs through one-on-one consulting and the Accelerator, a program for Arkansas innovators seeking their first SBIR/STTR win.
Each accelerator cohort focuses on one federal agency. In 2025, ASBTDC is planning Lab2Launch Accelerator cohorts to assist companies with targeting funding available through the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, respectively.
The virtual format of the multi-week Lab2Launch Accelerator and educational programs, such as introductory webinars, agency-specific training, and annual accelHERate forums for women, provides access to innovators located anywhere in the state.
鈥淎SBTDC looks forward to building on the success we鈥檝e had through FAST, helping companies such as and access America’s Seed Fund,鈥� Fine said. 鈥淭his year, we are adding our regional office at the University of Arkansas to the FAST project to continue driving innovation and economic growth in Arkansas.鈥�
The FAST program is a federal and state partnership initiative, with 67% of the project鈥檚 $300,000 total cost funded federally ($200,000) and the remaining 33% ($100,000) supported by local sources.