FILE PHOTO / SOUBANH PHANTHAY
Renee Kelly is associate vice president for strategic partnerships and innovation at the University of Maine.
April 10, 2023
Maine businesses with lingering pandemic challenges aided by recovery funds
Courtesy / UMaine
Rob Dumas, UMaine’s food science innovation coordinator, manages the Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant, one of the university facilities offering product development support as part of the Solutions for Maine R&D and Innovation Hub.
The University of Maine will use $2.5 million from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan to expand programming and services to help stabilize businesses still dealing with ongoing pandemic challenges.
The Solutions for Maine R&D and Innovation Hub is based out of UMaine’s Foster Center for Innovation and run by the university’s Office of Strategic Partnerships, Innovation, Resources and Engagement. The funds will help Maine companies with fewer than 250 employees access no-cost services, including technical assistance, counseling and student talent to help their recovery and long-term growth.
The pandemic has challenged businesses of all sizes, but startups and small businesses “are uniquely affected,” Renee Kelly, associate vice president of strategic partnerships, innovation and engagement at UMaine, said in a news release.
“Data show that they have particularly struggled to attract qualified talent and that financial uncertainty, supply chain disruptions and rising costs all have had an outsize impact on their operations and their ability to develop and launch new products,” said Kelly, a 2022 Mainebiz Woman to Watch. “Left unchecked, these effects could be devastating in a small-business state like ours.”
The hub is designed to help early-stage companies and small businesses weather the challenges and emerge thriving.
Through the hub, startups and small businesses will be able to access services, including:
- Prototyping, testing and manufacturing design assistance
- Training and coaching on how to reach potential customers to do market research
- Counseling from entrepreneurs-in-residence to support business planning and recovery from pandemic delays
- Support from a cadre of undergraduate and graduate students who will assist with key business development tasks
Several aspects of the hub’s services — including UMaine’s Innovate for Maine internship program and market-fit support for entrepreneurs — were in place before the pandemic but will be scaled to serve more businesses and provide assistance year-round.
The initiative is designed to provide students with experiential learning opportunities and to strengthen business partnerships.
Portland accessories-maker Wildwood Oyster Co. recently took advantage of the hub’s student intern services.
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Becky McKinnell
“Without their help, I would not have been able to have this research done so quickly and thoroughly,” said Becky McKinnell, Wildwood’s founder and designer who was a Mainebiz 40 Under 40 honoree last year.
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The Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan took effect in October 2021 with the Legislature’s approval to invest nearly $1 billion of Federal American Rescue Plan funds to improve the lives of Maine people and families, help businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build the economy. To date, the plan has delivered direct economic relief to nearly 1,000 small businesses, supported more than 100 infrastructure projects and invested in workforce programs estimated to offer apprenticeship, career and education advancement, and job training opportunities to 22,000 people.
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