State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education

The Southern Colorado Innovation Link (SCIL) is a collaborative effort of more than 20 regional organizations that seek to make Southern Colorado a preferred destination to incubate and grow innovative ideas, products, and businesses. This will be achieved through coordination of resources, hands-on technical assistance, mentorship, and access to capital, all building on the existing innovation clusters in Advanced Manufacturing and Infrastructure Engineering. The project has three goals: to foster an engaged ecosystem to create and grow companies by commercializing technology, to catalyze high growth entrepreneurial development, and to connect economic development and commercialization resources throughout the region. Within three years, the SCIL expects it will support the creation of 65 business startups and 500 jobs through 6 Accelerator programs, launch two new maker spaces resulting in 10 new prototypes, and provide access to $6 million in follow-on capital.