Encouraging new investment in Wisconsin

Key words for this post:
Business plans for venture capital
SBA loans

I have fond memories of Wisconsin -- I attended Ripon College, near Green Bay, for two years. The warm winter fires with snow men lining the walkway are still vivid memories. It is good to hear that Wisconsin is taking an active approach to encouraging new and young businesses.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has just launched his new economic development initiative called "Grow Wisconsin: The 2005 Agenda."

The plan focuses on supporting small-business incubators; encouraging businesses to locate in "distressed" areas; expediting venture capital and angel investor tax credit expenditures and helping the state's manufacturers become more competitive, the governor said.

Doyle announced his plan during stops in Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay. As part of the effort, Doyle said that Cellular Dynamics International Inc., a Madison-based biotechnology firm involved in stem cell research, has received $2 million in state aid to expand its operations -- creating 33 jobs.

The company will receive a grant and a loan, each totaling $1 million. The money will be used to defray start-up costs and to leverage $4 million in additional investment.

Among the elements of Doyle's initiative are:

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  Directing the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority to deploy $30 million in bonding to support efforts to create more business incubators.
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  Creating a flexible grant program called the Super Employment Economic Development Zones to assist companies that create jobs in the state's areas of highest unemployment.
• 
  Supporting legislation to update the angel and venture capital tax credit to make the program more attractive to investors without raising the cost of the program.
• 
  Proposing legislation to establish a Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, and provide $1.5 million to help manufacturers assess their ability to compete, adopt new technology, and improve the efficiency of their manufacturing processes.
• 
  Seeking legislation to require that all gasoline in Wisconsin contain 10 percent ethanol to increase the state's ethanol production and diversify energy sources.
• 
  Directing the state Department of Commerce to pilot regional economic development initiatives led by the private-sector, two of which are currently underway in the greater Milwaukee and Fox Valley areas.

Wisconsin is a stunningly beautiful state, worthy of the finest in venture capital and small business investment. These proposals reach a wide range of businesses, both established and very new -- and, since the investment is government sponsored, these proposals will most certainly welcome minority companies as well.