Maryland agencies team up for homeland security business plan competition
First-in-the-nation Chesapeake Innovation Center teams up with state Department of Business and Economic Development to offer $50,000 homeland security prize; companies have until 15 November to submit appliications
It is too late to enter this year’s Global Security Challenge, the London-based business plan competition we have been reporting on throughout the week, but a similar contest being held by the Chesapeake Innovation Center (CIC) in Maryland is actively seeking contestants — and offers a much richer prize of $50,000. Funding half of the prize is CIC itself; the other half comes from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. We like these contests because they give smaller companies an opportunity to show off to venture capitalists and large integrators, but we are especially impressed when states and municipalities take an interest in nurturing the homeland security sector. Opened in June 2003, the CIC has the capacity to house approximately 20- 25 start-up companies in its 27,500 square foot facility in Annapolis, Maryland, making it the first incubator of its kind in the country. (Long Island, New York, and San Diego, California now have similar programs as well.)
The CIC will accept executive summaries for its Defend America Challenge until 15 November 2006, and will notify the top twenty-five companies by 1 December. These companies must submit full business plans online on or before 15 December 2006. Of the twenty-five, six semi-finalists will be chosen to present their business plans live on 19 January 2007.
-read more in this Baltimore Business Journal’s report; Chesapeake Innovation Center Web site
