The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it will launch a 16-stop road tour connecting entrepreneurs working on advanced technology to the country’s largest source of early stage funding – the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Also known as America’s Seed Fund, the SBIR/STTR programs focus on next generation research & development (R&D) and is led by the SBA with 11 participating federal agencies.

This year, the road tour will be stopping in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Wednesday, August 14th!

The SBIR Road Tour plays an important role in increasing engagement with entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country and building out greater networks to support the creation of small businesses focusing on high-impact research.

Each SBIR Road Tour stop will be hosted by a local organization involved in supporting entrepreneurs in next generation R&D.  Program managers from the participating federal agencies will conduct one-on-one meetings with attendees, take part in targeted panels, discuss technology areas, and share insights into how the agencies make funding decisions.

The SBIR/STTR programs provide over $3 billion in early stage funding to small businesses each year in a wide variety of technology areas such as unmanned systems, advanced materials, health, cybersecurity and defense.  The SBIR/STTR programs execute over 4,000 new awards annually, which allow innovators to advance new technologies and have contributed to the creation of thousands of jobs.