ALBANY, N.Y. — The Grow-NY food and agriculture competition is accepting applications for the fourth round of the business contest.
The initiative seeks to connect “innovators and investors” in the food, beverage, and agriculture sectors locally and around the globe, Empire State Development (ESD) announced Monday.
The competition has already resulted in economic growth and entrepreneurial opportunity in upstate New York, with “hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars of follow-on investment” as a result, ESD contended.
The Grow-NY region is a 22-county area spanning Central New York, the Finger Lakes, and the Southern Tier.
The competition attracts high-growth food and agriculture startups to compete for $3 million in total prize money each year and supports 20 finalists through a business-development phase that connects them with the region’s resources.
Gov. Kathy Hochul included funding for three additional rounds of the competition in the latest state budget, ESD noted.
“This fourth round of Grow-NY will further build on the success of earlier competition winners, whose entrepreneurial ideas are fueling economic growth Upstate,” Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of Empire State Development, said. “These innovative companies have attracted significant investment and are seeding the ground for even more innovation, both throughout the Grow-NY region and around the world.”
Applications must be submitted by July 1. Those interested can apply at website www.grow-ny.com.