A dozen small businesses will take part in the Port of Seattle’s new PortGen accelerator program aimed at helping women and minority-owned businesses.
The companies include American Abatement and Demo; Certified Inspection Service, Inc; Crux Diving Inc; Ergosynch Engineering; Integrated Design Engineers; JMR Trucking INC; KWAME Building Group; Lights Inc; Mobile Electric; Proshred Seattle; SHJ Electric and SASH Painting.
“Port projects should create economic opportunity in every community,” said Port of Seattle Commissioner Sam Cho. “The Port of Seattle’s PortGen Accelerator is part of our efforts to advance equitable recovery. Connecting small business owners to the right training and tools will make them more competitive when bidding for procurement opportunities with the port and other government agencies.”
The two-month program, which is set to start this month, gives these businesses access to mentors and programming the area entrepreneurs and boost their chances of contracting with the port and other Seattle procurement teams.
“This inaugural PortGen cohort will develop relationships with business leaders, take deep dives into financing, customer acquisition and growth strategies, and meet mentors to support their expansion plans,” said Courtney Law, innovation director at Find Ventures. “The accelerator will expand the access to new opportunities for the region’s small business community.”