The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced San Antonio’s BioMedSA as a Stage One winner for the 2023 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. BioMedSA will receive a $50,000 cash prize to build strategic partnerships that will support the launch, growth, and scale of bioscience startups in San Antonio and the surrounding region, serving as a model for other communities seeking to engage a diverse population.
BioMedSA’s award-winning model will amplify the impact and success of Growth Accelerator Partnerships and will work to foster and facilitate a thriving national ecosystem that advances equitable investment in innovative high growth small businesses. This year’s competition has brought together organizations, entities, groups, and individuals beyond geographic boundaries to support science, innovators and innovation needed to confront the challenges of today.
“This funding will enable BioMedSA to provide increased support for bioscience startups by leveraging our relationships with Ecosystem Partners in other regions who are eager to support this large and growing sector in San Antonio,” stated Heather Hanson, BioMedSA’s president. “We look forward to enabling new Ecosystem Partners to build relationships with key research innovators, such as The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and local bioscience startup accelerators like VelocityTX and NVision.”
Winners of Stage One were selected through a multi-tier review panel process with experts in entrepreneurship, business, innovation, and strategic planning both inside and out of the federal government. Applications and pitch videos were reviewed by expert judges submitted by the finalists.
BioMedSA will now compete for an additional $50,000 to $150,000 Stage Two cash prize later this summer. Stage Two cash prizes will support the “Growth Accelerator Partnerships” to further develop strong innovation ecosystems to fast-track building and scaling of STEM/R&D-focused small businesses. Organizations who were not selected in Stage One, as well as diverse local, regional, and national entities from any sector or location, are eligible to connect with Stage One winners to develop partnerships in a bid for Stage Two prizes.
