ALBANY, N.Y. — FuzeHub will use federal grant funding of $375,000 to support entrepreneurs in underserved communities.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) awarded the funding.
FuzeHub, an Albany–based nonprofit, says it works to help New York State manufacturing and technology companies increase competitiveness and growth.
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FuzeHub’s funding includes two grants — $322,000 for its Equity in Manufacturing Innovation (EIM) program and $50,000 through the SBA’s 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC).
The initiatives will enable FuzeHub to ramp up its capabilities in engaging and supporting underserved entrepreneurs in the manufacturing and technology sectors across several areas of New York state.
“This federal investment will allow us to expand our reach and impact. FuzeHub has assisted thousands of manufacturing and tech firms over the 10 years since we first launched, and now we’ll have added backing to ensure that every manufacturer knows how to access New York State’s robust innovation resources,” Elena Garuc, executive director of FuzeHub, said in its announcement. “We will keep building our capacity to provide intensive, wrap-around support to innovators who have historically faced barriers to accessing these vital resources. We’re grateful to Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Senator Gillibrand for helping us secure the funding necessary to fuel this important work.”
The EIM program will provide entrepreneurial training and services to 30 entrepreneurs across the Central New York, Southern Tier, and North Country regions. Complementing this, the GAFC award will support the development of a pre-accelerator program and new collaborations with 20-30 organizations to address the needs of entrepreneurs with advanced-manufacturing research and development projects.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) were “instrumental” in securing the federal funding for FuzeHub’s expanded efforts, the organization noted.
FuzeHub — which serves as the statewide center for the New York Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NY MEP) — will spearhead these initiatives in partnership with multiple regional NY MEP centers. They include the Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology (AMT) in the Southern Tier, CITEC Business Solutions in the North Country, and TDO in Central New York.