MDA opens V-Quad applications

The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is currently accepting applications for Virtual Quad grants from qualified teams developing new products or services in energy and agriculture technologies. Teams are eligible for a maximum award of $25,000 each in the form of a voucher that may be used to receive technical assistance from a research university in Mississippi. MDA will award a total of $100,000 in the Entrepreneurs Technical Assistance Program, which is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's State Energy Program. Teams receiving an ETAP grant will be paired with a relevant research university to solve specific technical challenges. Teams will have up to nine months to complete their respective proposed tasks. The goal of V-Quad is to build an innovative, virtual incubator network to support Mississippi entrepreneurs launching businesses focused on energy- and agriculture-related technologies. The project also includes a consortium with MDA, Innovate Mississippi, the Institutions of Higher Learning and the four research universities: Mississippi State University, University of Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi and Jackson State University. The competition is open to teams of high school and college students, university or community college faculty, for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, public-sector employees or any combination of individuals from these entities. The deadline to apply is June 30. For more information and an application, go to https://mississippi.org/entrepreneurship/vquad/. (Source: 04/07/22)