Ohio Pen - City of Akron and Bounce Innovation Hub Receive Million Grant to Support Entrepreneurs in Akron

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City of Akron Press Release
From the desk of City of Akron Press Office and Bounce Innovation Hub
Published: 05-16-2022

Akron, Ohio, May 16, 2022 — Today, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan and Bounce Innovation Hub announced a $2 million grant from the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) has been awarded to the city of Akron to expand and renovate the second floor of Bounce. Bounce is a nonprofit organization, housed in a 300,000 sq. ft. building owned by the City. Bounce serves entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses through affordable workspace, advising and programming.

This grant award will renovate significantly under-utilized space on the second floor of the facility, adding capacity to support more start-up businesses and entrepreneurs at Bounce, including additional co-working and office space, conference rooms and classrooms. The EDA investment will be matched with over $530,000 in local funds provided by the City and is expected to create 100 jobs, retain 42 jobs, and generate $2 million in private investment.

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"This funding will help grow community, catalyze innovation, and further support local entrepreneurship at Bounce," said Mayor Horrigan. "We've seen incredible success with Bounce so far and this grant will help propel it to the next stage of growth. I want to thank Congressman Tim Ryan and Senator Sherrod Brown for their support of Akron and our entrepreneurs, as well as the EDA for seeing the value in what we are doing here in Akron. I applaud all the City employees and the Bounce team including Doug Weintraub and Jessica Sublett for their hard work to make this possible."

"On behalf of everyone at Bounce, thank you to the EDA for this amazing opportunity to expand our facilities, amenities and offerings to serve even more of northeast Ohio's entrepreneurs," said Bounce COO and incoming CEO Jessica Sublett, who was a co-author and oversaw the grant application process. "This was a two-and-a-half-year-long project in the making and it's exciting to see our hard work pay off. Thank you to the City of Akron for their continued partnership and support. Many thanks to Congressman Tim Ryan and Senator Sherrod Brown for their strong support on this project, as well. We look forward to getting started and now let the real work begin!"

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"This award from the Economic Development Administration is a great achievement for the city of Akron's business and economic future," said Congressman Tim Ryan. "This federal investment will create good-paying jobs, expand job and skills training, and attract new private investment in our community. Northeast Ohio continues to see tremendous economic growth and this investment further underscores the incredible talent of Ohio's workers and entrepreneurs. I'm proud to have incredible partners in the leaders at Bounce Innovation Hub to bring these federal dollars back home."

EDA grants are awarded through a competitive process based upon the application's merit, the applicant's eligibility, and the availability of funds. More information on EDA's grant process and investment process can be found at www.eda.gov.

For further information, contact:
Jeanine Black
Chief Marketing Officer
Phone: 330-701-5360
E-mail: [email protected]

Filed Under: Government, City

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