LSU has been awarded a $600,000 U.S. Economic Development Administration grant to boost technology entrepreneurship in the Capital Region. 

The Baton Rouge Initiative for Development, Growth and Entrepreneurship, or BRIDGE, program will use the funding to support entrepreneurs and their startups through technical support, a mentorship program with local mentors and executives-in-residence based on an analysis of their needs. 

“Matching entrepreneurs with seasoned professionals has always been a gap in the Baton Rouge Capital Region marketplace. The BRIDGE team will work with promising entrepreneurs and startups with high potential technologies and match them with services and experienced mentors to help innovators progress from the idea stage to growth phases of their ventures,” says BRIDGE program manager Jason Boudreaux in a news release. 

The program will work with approximately 30 new ventures each year. Boudreaux says one goal of BRIDGE is to link existing initiatives at LSU Innovation, including business incubator LSU Innovation Park and the Small Business Development Center. 

More than 220 organizations nationwide applied for grants through the EDA’s Build to Scale program. LSU is one of 60 organizations to receive a portion of the total $53 million in funding. See the announcement from LSU.