$500K Provided By County, BGE To Support Small Businesses In HoCo

Ellicott City MD

18 February, 2022

3:13 PM

Description

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A new public-private partnership between Howard County and Baltimore Gas & Electric will provide $500,000 in grant funding for small businesses and entrepreneurs impacted by the pandemic. The county will be using $250,000 in American Rescue Plan money that will be matched by BGE to support growing businesses. "Relief funding has been critical on our road to economic recovery and as we look toward a third year living with COVID-19, we cannot take our foot off the gas. Now is a perfect time to invest in the thinkers, innovators and changemakers who will drive our community forward," Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said. "We're also supporting our chamber organizations who are often on the frontlines of serving our small and emerging businesses, to provide quality resources and support to the nearly 10,000 businesses who call Howard County home." Grant funding will target underserved early-stage entrepreneurs and startups, women of color entrepreneurs and local businesses in Howard County: $125,00 to HoCo Higher, an Entrepreneur Accelerator Program$150,000 to The 3rd, which supports women of color entrepreneurs$70,000 to the Black Women Entrepreneur Program with TEDCO; and$150,000 to local chamber organizations, including the Howard County Chamber, the Central Maryland Chamber, the Downtown Columbia Partnership, the Ellicott City Partnership, and Visit Howard County. $5,000 to the Community Foundation of Howard County"BGE is proud to work with our Howard County partners to provide small businesses grants that will help them thrive as we come out of the pandemic. These small businesses are foundational to our region's economy and energize their communities, so anything we can do to support them is a worthwhile cause," BGE's president and CEO Carim Khouzami said. "Investing in the community is a priority for BGE and efforts like this also strengthen our partnerships with the customers, businesses, and communities that we serve."