This short list of regional initiatives are trailblazing the way toward a bright future in the state of West Virginia and the greater Appalachian area as a whole. Check them out now!
West Virginia High Technology Foundation
Great if your business: is looking to break ground in a new field of WV’s economy.
The West Virginia High Technology Foundation’s mission is to institutionalize a “knowledge sector” within West Virginia’s economy. They plan to implement this solution through rapid diversification of business in the state, emphasizing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields through contract work.
Based at the I-79 Technology Park in Fairmont, the organization dedicates itself to the federal government’s mission of Continuity of Operations (or COOP), an ordinance realized for the possibility of crippling terroristic threats that target national centers of leadership (like the nearby D.C. metropolitan area). The West Virginia High Technology Foundation encourages federal projects to allocate resources and buildings to the Tech Park, which offers free land to select federal projects.
TechConnectWV
Great if your business: is looking to break into specific STEM fields like biometrics and advanced materials in West Virginia.
TechConnectWV similarly seeks to diversify West Virginia’s economy, in this case with a unique focus on a narrower range of fields: advanced energy, chemicals, and advanced materials, biosciences, and biometrics. Based in South Charleston, they’re primed to assist small businesses primarily in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.
Vantage Ventures
Great if your business: is looking for a seed fund to jumpstart a novel approach to business in the Mountain State.
Vantage Ventures is located on the campus of West Virginia University and emerged from a call to action by John Chambers, a graduate of the WVU Business College and Law School. Vantage Ventures focuses on creating a start-up culture in West Virginia “[t]hrough investments in skills training and digitization.” With a bold promise to “move mountains,” Vantage Ventures gives users the opportunity to both invest in start-ups throughout the state and seek funding for radical ideas that typify outside-of-the-box thinking.
Marshall University Brad D. Smith Business Incubator
Great if your business: is looking to get started in WV and needs professional consulting on everything from training to finding a place to set up shop.
The Marshall University Brad D. Smith Business Incubator is something of a corollary to WVU’s Vantage Ventures initiative. Located on Marshall University’s campus in Huntington, the Business Incubator is dedicated to fostering a culture of start-up entrepreneurship through training, consulting, funding, and even by providing office space.
Vertx Partners
Great if your business: is looking to connect with other businesses in the Appalachian region or you are trying to contract with the federal government.
Vertx Partners is helping to bridge the gap between cutting-edge thinkers in the Mountain State and the U.S. Air Force. Committed to securing lasting partnerships through events, education, consulting, and beyond, Vertx is helping lead the way in the ongoing effort to revitalize West Virginia and the surrounding region.
Each and every venture here will play its role in modernizing the West Virginian economy not only for the 21st century but also beyond.
At Vertx Partners, we’ll continue highlighting entities that may be of interest to you and your business as they, too, transform West Virginia for the better.
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