Wisconsin

For more than a century, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the beer capital of the world. The city has been home to some of America's largest brewers, including Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller. In fact, the industrial development of Milwaukee was spurred by easy access to an abundance of freshwater. Small businesses used water for manufacturing, tanning and brewing of beer. Over time, water user businesses grew into large corporations and helped shape and define Milwaukee’s economic future for many decades. While some of those large breweries have since left Milwaukee’s landscape and the manufacturers have relocated operations to developing countries, the suppliers for these water users have continued to grow in Milwaukee and have become internationally recognized water technology leaders.

In 2015, through the Regional Innovation Strategies program, EDA awarded $71,625 to the Milwaukee Water Council to provide catalytic seed capital for early stage, high growth potential companies that are commercializing water- related technology. Funds from this project will be used to provide capital to companies that are bringing new and innovative technologies to market by targeting the capital gap between translational research and institutional venture capital.