By Oklahoma Farm Report
Oklahoma innovators have until Friday, May 19, to apply for an opportunity to receive business support and resources as part of the inaugural Oklahoma Grassroots Rural and Ag Business Accelerators cohorts.
The program, which is coordinated by Oklahoma Farm Bureau along with state and national partners, consists of two unique business development pipelines that will connect rural Oklahoma innovators and ventures with business support and potential investment.
The Cultivate Oklahoma agricultural innovation pipeline – powered by national partner AgLaunch Initiative working with Ag Ventures Alliance, a farmer cooperative that invests in ag tech startups – will focus on innovations and technologies that have on-farm or production applications to provide new opportunities for Oklahoma farmers.
The Activate Oklahoma rural innovation pipeline connects rural entrepreneurs with Oklahoma-based resources through a curriculum provided by Oklahoma Small Business Development Centers, created to help innovators navigate the business landscape to bring their ideas and technologies to market.
Each pipeline starts with a boot camp-style program featuring a diverse curriculum that provides businesses with resources, input from business development experts and mentorship connections. Cultivate Oklahoma programming runs from June to September. Activate Oklahoma programming
is planned to run from June through November but is subject to change based on programming needs.
To apply, companies must have operations, investment or impact in Oklahoma and must be located in a community with 50,000 or fewer people.
Applications for either pipeline are available on the Oklahoma Farm Bureau website at okfarmbureau.org/accelerator. Applications must be completed by Friday, May 19, and successful applicants will be notified no later than June 9.