EDA awards Hutch, BDC ‘build to scale’ grant

Listen to this article

Baltimore-based incubator program Hutch and the Baltimore Development Corporation (BDC) were awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The award is one of 51 “build to scale” grants totaling $47 million to organizations that support technology entrepreneurs, catalyze innovation and fuel economic growth.

EDA’s “Build to Scale” program provides annual grants that aim to accelerate technology entrepreneurship by increasing inclusive access to entrepreneurial support and startup capital. Awardees will leverage an additional $48 million in matching funds from a variety of private and public sector sources.

With EDA support, Hutch will build capacity to scale, growing 45 digital services firms by 2025,nearly doubling the number of entrepreneurs served. The grant will help Hutch expand and roll-out new efforts to connect mentors, digital services experts and government administrators to accelerate innovation and transformation within federal agencies including:

• Bootcamp Immersion Experiences – mini-accelerator programs in topic-specific areas such branding, strategic planning, proposal development, and more
• Financial Aid – reduce the barriers remote participants experience when trying to gain access to the coaching and knowledge needed to grow their businesses
• Nationwide Partner Engagement – leverage broad network of digital services firms to deploy Hutch curriculum in communities outside of the Baltimore-Washington region
• Mentorship – each company will be paired with two mentors; a Domain Mentor within their targeted federal agency as well as a Capability Mentor within their technical capability to deepen expertise.

This EDA investment supports a private-public partnership between Hutch and BDC, a nonprofit economic development organization for the dity of Baltimore. BDC strives to grow a more equitable economy for the city by retaining, expanding, and attracting minority- and women-owned businesses in an inclusive manner and promoting investment in neighborhoods that have been negatively impacted by institutional racism and/or generational poverty.

Established by Fearless in 2019, the Hutch program equips digital services entrepreneurs with the tools, mentorship and peer-to-peer support needed to have a lasting impact on government clients and communities. It is the only digital services incubator managed by digital services experts focused on supporting women and minority entrepreneurs working in digital services.