YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The recent awards of nearly $2.6 million to a pair of locally based initiatives bodes well for efforts to capitalize on broader economic development opportunities.
A $1.79 million Appalachian Regional Commission grant will support the Youngstown Business Incubator’s Rising Tides Initiative.
This YBI program focuses on boosting microchip, defense and aerospace industries in a seven-county region that encompasses Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Ashtabula, Jefferson, Monroe and Belmont counties.
YBI will use the funds to provide existing manufacturers with comprehensive technology education, pilot and demonstration programs and targeted initiatives to enhance competitiveness.
Rising Tides also will support emerging companies at YBI that are focused on business software and advanced manufacturing technologies, as well as companies at Brite Energy Innovators in Warren that are focused on electric vehicle mobility, battery storage and grid infrastructure.
It’s projected that YBI’s initiative will benefit 90 businesses and 180 workers or trainees and create two businesses and 20 jobs.
Meanwhile, an $800,000 award from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund will support Valley Partners’ GrowBiz Revolving Loan Fund. This fund provides affordable capital to underserved areas. Since its launch in 2021, GrowBiz has supplied $5.18 million in loans to assist 36 small businesses.
These grants come as the Mahoning Valley’s economy is making progress.
A U.S. Census Bureau analysis shared Oct. 11 at a Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber event shows improvement since 2020 in gross domestic product with unemployment cut in half over the past decade.
Nevertheless, this remains a region that has not fully recovered from the economic shocks of the last five decades – the loss of major industries and the resulting population exodus.
New industries, including those spurred by the ingenuity of local entrepreneurs supported by YBI, Valley Partners and Brite, have emerged, offering bright spots in the economic landscape.
We urge Columbus and Washington to send more grant dollars here and lift more businesses.