Edge small business winners

EDGE reaches milestone with 100 small business grants

Betsy PriceHeadlines, Business

A Delaware Division of Small Business program that gives small business grants to start or grow has awarded cash to 100 businesses in its first five years. The EDGE competition — short for Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion competition — reached that milestone Thursday, when it gave money to 10 small businesses in the first of its biannual awards. In …

Women-owned

State programs like EDGE help women-owned businesses grow

Betsy PriceBusiness, Headlines

WILMINGTON — When Ashlee Cooper was offered the opportunity to return to the teaching job she lost during the pandemic, she declined because her toddler’s school hadn’t reopened yet. She opted instead to open an event-planning company. Her “ah-ha” moment came when someone saw her standing on a chair to photograph a balloon sculpture and suggested she use a drone …

Clay Banks, small business

State Division of Small Business highlights support programs

Sam HautGovernment, Headlines

With the Delaware House and Senate declaring May Small Business Month, the state agency focused on highlighting ways it can help. According to annual reports by the Division of Small Business, which was established in 2018, there were then 24,782 small businesses in the state. Small businesses are defined as a company with less than 100 employees. That increased to …

The latest small businesses to win Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion grants. (Delaware Division of Small Business)

Delaware gives big grants to 10 small businesses

Ken MammarellaBusiness, Government, Headlines

Ten small businesses in Delaware have been awarded grants in the sixth round of the Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion competition. Since the state government launched EDGE in 2019, $4.2 million has been awarded to 68 promising small businesses. In this round, more than 120 businesses applied for grants. Businesses that are less than 5 years old and employ no more …