The Tampa Bay Wave has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the United States Economic Development Administration to start a seed fund to focus on cybersecurity, fintech and healthtech startups.
This three-year grant, awarded as a part of the U.S. EDA’s 2023 “Build to Scale” program, will help to launch the Tampa Bay Innovation Seed Fund. The grant will allow the Wave to establish a team to form the fund, raise the $10 million and begin to make investments.
The U.S. EDA awarded a total of 60 Build to Scale grants – totaling $53 million – to organizations across the U.S. that support technology entrepreneurs, catalyze innovation and fuel economic growth. Wave’s proposal was the only one from Florida to secure funding.
“These funds will enable Tampa Bay Wave to expand our programming and support for cybersecurity, fintech and healthtech startups, thereby helping foster the region’s national reputation for innovation and talent across these verticals,” said Linda Olson, chief executive officer of the Tampa Bay Wave. “This project should not only help strengthen industry-driven innovation clusters in Tampa Bay but also lead to the creation of hundreds of new jobs in the region, over the next three to five years.”