Leap Inc. also works closely with East Lansing’s business incubator, the Technology Innovation Center, 325 E. Grand River Ave. Project Manager Jeffery Smith said he hopes the funds given to Leap Inc. will help foster more support for small businesses and will be streamlined directly to areas in need.

“They outlined exactly where the money would be sent,” Smith said.

Leap Inc. applied for the money, and the funding will be used to expand existing programs and promote entrepreneurship, said Pam Jodway, vice president of marketing and entrepreneur programs with Leap Inc.

“We will focus on identifying our current entrepreneur support assets and work to reduce duplication,” Jodway said.
“We will host programs to connect entrepreneurs with each other — something of great interest to this group.”

Leap Inc. also hopes to use the money to build an online showcase of resources and fund programs about innovation in schools.

Michigan recently was ranked fifth in the country in the increase rate of new firms in the marketplace, the statement said. The grant program seeks to encourage the continuation of new businesses and growth in Granholm said in the statement.

“Over the past eight years, we have nurtured a culture in which entrepreneurs can thrive,” Granholm said. “We have planted the seeds for a new, diversified Michigan economy by providing start-up businesses with seed capital, coaching and the support infrastructure needed to develop entrepreneurship in Michigan.”

Leap Inc. has a positive impact on Greater Lansing, and the grant money will benefit entrepreneur efforts, Smith said.

“There are a lot of support services, incubators, programs, beginning to spring up in the Greater Lansing area, and having someone that coordinates that is desperately needed,” Smith said. “Lansing has a lot of potential, and there’s a lot of disparate efforts going on individually. … A coordinated effort probably would go a long way.”