Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation

This EDA investment will support the Michigan Tech Enterprise Corporation (MTEC) Startup Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Program (AMMP) Accelerator, which will support underrepresented entrepreneurs (rural, minority, women and others) and accelerate company growth in the Upper Midwest region. As an early-stage accelerator, the AMMP Accelerator seeks to address a critical gap in the entrepreneur ecosystem in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula  and the Upper Midwest region by providing sustained coaching and support that teaches the region’s technologists and innovators how to build a strong business model and raise funding in the advanced materials and manufacturing sectors.

The AMMP Accelerator will be the first cohort accelerator program based in the Upper Peninsula that provides intensive, in-person support over 3 months. The AMMP Accelerator is a $1.45 million pilot program, and the EDA Venture Challenge Build funding will support five cohort companies across three years and establish a sustainable model for startup acceleration. The project aims to create 40 FTE jobs in the Upper Midwest region, advise 120 companies, and further establish the Keweenaw as a startup innovation hub for advanced materials and manufacturing.