Featured photo: Steve Naronha and newly promoted managing director, XLH Flint, MI, Sebastian Alvim
Funding via the Mott Foundation, Community Foundation of Flint and city of Flint supports XLH programming for healthcare innovation and economic development
FLINT, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–XLerateHealth (XLH), a nationally recognized healthcare accelerator headquartered in Louisville KY, announced new funding from the city of Flint via the Small Business Administration (SBA) Community Navigator Pilot Program and The Community Foundation of Flint. The awards will support the development of a new pre-accelerator program to help prime local Flint, Michigan healthcare innovation. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, one of the original funders of XLH Flint starting in 2018, will continue to support operations of the flagship Flint accelerator.
“We could not be more pleased to announce the expansion of our work in Michigan, and are especially proud to be a part of the first city of Flint SBA Community Navigator Pilot Program,” said Jackie Willmot CEO and co-founder, XLH.
“We have now put three cohorts through the Flint accelerator program and the creation of this new pre-accelerator program will help more local talent to get the resources, education and exposure they need to succeed,” Wilmot added. “We extend deep gratitude to all of our partners and funders that have made XLH Flint successful over the last three years.”
XLH is one of the partners in the City of Flint Community Navigator Pilot Program, which aims to connect with a variety of entrepreneurial industries by providing assistance during economic recovery. Funds from this program, alongside the award from the Community Foundation of Flint, will support the creation of a new pre-accelerator program to harvest more ideas out of the Flint region directly via universities, hospitals and ecosystem partners-and then funnel them into the flagship XLH accelerator.
“This [new SBA] grant will allow us to meet entrepreneurs where they are and help expand their resources for sustainable growth in Flint,” said city of Flint economic development director Khalfani Stephens in a city of Flint announcement.
“We are grateful to be one of the 32 organizations in the nation given this wonderful opportunity,” Stephens added.
XLH Flint has been in operation since 2018, with three cohorts completed and 18 companies that have collectively raised ~$3.7M. The team has a national network of coaches, mentors and investors and aims to raise awareness of and support for the talent and innovation happening in the region.
The new pre-accelerator program is expected to launch in Q1 2022 and run February through March 2022. Interested applicants can register here. The next XLH flagship accelerator program will begin in summer 2022. Applications open in January on xleratehealth.com.
The organization is actively recruiting for a Flint Project Manager to support the expansions. Interested applicants should apply here. Applications close Jan. 7, 2022. The role will report to the newly promoted managing director, XLH Flint, MI, Sebastian Alvim.
About XLerateHealth
The XLerateHealth (XLH) mission is to cultivate and grow impactful healthcare innovation in the Midwest, Southeast and other areas of the country where great innovation often goes unrecognized and underfunded. Founded in 2012, XLH supports the development of healthcare innovation through its healthcare accelerator, which helps start-up founders commercialize their business and attract funding. XLerateHealth also leads the efforts to build and operate the XLerator Network, an NIH-funded partnership with Academic Lead University of Kentucky along with 24 other academic institutions in the Southeast. The objective of this work is to increase the commercialization of promising life science and healthcare innovations in the NIH-designated Southeast Institutional Development Award (IDeA) states.
Find out more about XLH by visiting www.xleratehealth.com. XLH is on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @XlerateHealth.
