14 projects receive S.C. Commerce Department funding

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The S.C. Department of Commerce has awarded $670,000 in grants to support technological innovation in economic development throughout the state.

Fourteen projects, which will be implemented this year, received grants as part of the department’s Relentless Challenge program. Since 2013, the department’s Office of Innovation has awarded more than $7 million in local innovation projects to 41 organizations, according to a news release.

“The knowledge economy represents a vital part of South Carolina's present and future,” S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said in the release. “To ensure our industry partners have access to cutting-edge technology and a high-tech workforce, the continued growth of innovation in S.C. is critical.”

The 14 recipients are:

• City of Myrtle Beach: Building Myrtle Beach's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
• Don Ryan Center of Innovation: High-Tech Expansion in the Bluffton Region
• Greater Hartsville Chamber of Commerce: Cultivating the Future of Hartsville and the Pee Dee
• Greenville Local Development Corporation: GVL Starts Program
• GrowCo: Project Flywheel
• Increasing H.O.P.E.: Accelerator Pilot Program
• McNair Institute for Entrepreneurism and Free Enterprise: Connecting Students to Startups: Collaborative Online Programs for Students and Startups
• MUSC Research Foundation: Entrepreneurial Support Through Education, Formation and Funding, Networking and Mentoring
• MUSC Zucker Institute for Applied Neurosciences: Inspire, Innovate, Commercialize
• NEXT Upstate: NEXT Learning Labs Extension, Office Hours, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Internship Program Extension
• People in Partnership: Chain Spark: A Blockchain Startup Launch Program and Incubator
• Piedmont Technical College: Workforce Immersion Experiences for Educators
• Trident Technical College: Virtual Entrepreneur Center at Trident Technical College
• Venture Carolina: Venture Carolina Center for Entrepreneur and Investor Education