KALAMAZOO ? Southwest Michigan First, following the lead set last month by Oakland County’s Automation Alley, has signed a three-year pact with the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest to provide program support and a $10,000 award to a team from Southwest Michigan competing in the statewide business-plan writing contest.
The $10,000 will be awarded each Fall at the GLEQ Awards Ceremony and is in addition to any other prizes won in the statewide competition. SMF will back up the award by helping the Award winner commercialize their products.
?We have supported the GLEQ consistently over the past five years and feel we have the opportunity to take this alliance to a new, more effective level in providing technology networking and assistance to fledging companies in this region of the state,? said Paul Neeb, Vice President at SMF. ?Southwest Michigan First will host the GLEQ Fall 2006 Business Plan Awards Ceremony and present the top team from this region with our Innovation Award as part of our bigger effort to impact the growth of new companies.?
GLEQ Board Member David Brenner described Southwest Michigan First’s strong commitment, “As a leap forward in providing a complete commercialization process for growth companies in Southwest Michigan. These companies will be the ones to watch in the years to come.”
For more details about the contest, click on GLEQ.Org
