Valley Growth Ventures Fund Gets $3M from State
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Ohio Third Frontier Commission today awarded $3 million to Valley Growth Ventures LLC, a venture capital fund that is a partnership between the Youngstown Business Incubator, the Tech Belt Energy Innovation Center in Warren, the Mahoning Valley Economic Develop Corp. and Youngstown State University.
The funding comes from a total of $10.35 million allocated four venture capital funds from the state’s Pre-Seed and Seed Plus Capitalization Program.
Valley Growth Ventures LLC is a for-profit investment fund created to support high-growth companies. According to an announcement from the Third Frontier Commission, the fund will support its “current incubator portfolios” as well ‘attract out-of-region companies to the Mahoning Valley.”
The venture capital fund also has the ability to “make investments in start-ups across Ohio, with the goal of achieving strong returns to investors while creating high-paying technology jobs,” the funding announcement states.
In February the fund received a $250,000 federal grant to fund “essential financial support” for its operations. At the time the executive director of MVEDC, Michael Conway, said Valley Growth Ventures had applied for $3 million from the Ohio Third Frontier program. He noted that a similar amount had already been pledged by in matching funds.
Ohio Third Frontier is the state’s $2 billion technology-based economic development initiative to create high-wage jobs through the growth of high-tech start-up and early-stage companies.
The $10.35 million awarded today will be matched by more than $12 million of private capital, and will benefit “at least 20 emerging technology companies,” state officials say.
In addition to the $3 million for Valley Growth Ventures LLC, the Third Frontier Commission awarded $1.65 million to the North Coast Angel Fund III, $3.625 million to the North Coast Venture Fund and $2.079 million to Mutual Capital Partners Fund III LP.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
