SBA Awards Over $7 Million Create Nine New Regional Innovation Clusters

WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced more than $7 million in awards to establish nine new Regional Innovation Clusters (RICs) supporting small businesses and startups in biotechnology, defense, advanced manufacturing, and transportation. The clusters will serve as regional hubs connecting entrepreneurs with resources and opportunities-including business acceleration programs, market research, customer discovery, and government and commercial contracting assistance-to help them access funding, pursue procurement opportunities, and strengthen domestic supply chains.

"President Trump is restoring America's industrial capacity-from defense systems and biotechnology to advanced manufacturing and transportation," said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. "By expanding and modernizing our nationwide network of Regional Innovation Clusters, the SBA is supercharging production capacity in communities across the country and helping small businesses bring critical technologies from the drawing board to the factory floor. The result is a stronger industrial base, more resilient supply chains, and less dependence on foreign competitors."

A Regional Innovation Cluster is a concentration of small businesses, suppliers, buyers, manufacturers, research institutions, and capital providers organized around a single industry in a single geographic area. The RIC Program strengthens industry through regional collaboration connecting small businesses with end customers - shortening the distance between a small business with a product and the prime contractor, manufacturer, or buyer that needs it.

With these nine new awards, there are now 12 RICs serving unique regions across the country to support small businesses in critical industries like advanced manufacturing, biotechnology, critical minerals, defense, and transportation.

The new RIC award recipients are as follows:

To learn more about the RIC Program, visit https://sba.gov/local-assistance/regional-innovation-clusters.

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

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