Puerto Rico Science Trust awarded $200K under SBA’s FAST program
The grant will support entrepreneurs competing for federal innovation funding.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded $200,000 to the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust as part of the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas-Guzmán announced.
A total of 49 grants of up to $200,000 each were awarded to U.S. organizations supporting small businesses with specialized training, mentoring and technical assistance.
Josué Rivera, director of the SBA’s Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands District Office, explained that the FAST program is designed to help underrepresented entrepreneurs compete for federal grants and contracts through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
“The grant assigned to Puerto Rico, which can be accessed through the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust, is an important investment to ensure that innovation is a vital engine of our development and economic growth,” Rivera said. “We are investing in research, encouraging local ingenuity to generate critical technologies and create the industries of the future, promoting research to foster intellectual property, and connecting universities and small businesses.”
Rivera also noted that the grant aligns with the strategic goals of the SBIR Road Tour held in February, where 11 federal agencies promoting America’s Seed Fund participated in coordination with the SBA. The program offers $4 billion in funding through a competitive process for entrepreneurs without affecting their equity.
The funding will also support Colmena66, a program under the trust, which will relaunch its call for proposals “Approach the Grant.” This initiative helps researchers and entrepreneurs access federal SBIR/STTR grants, enabling them to take innovative technologies from the lab to the market. The SBIR/STTR programs collectively provide more than $4 billion in funding annually for the development and commercialization of innovations.
