Utah
State Resources
The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) is Utah’s primary economic development authority. Its mission is to “cultivate economic prosperity for all Utahns” by leveraging federal, state, and private sector resources to support Utah entrepreneurs and businesses. GOEO houses various economic development programs and initiatives, including Utah’s APEX Accelerator, the small business loan program, Center for Rural Development, Office of Tourism and Film Commission, international trade promotion program, business recruitment and expansion incentive programs, and the Startup State Initiative. Below is a sample of what Utah GOEO and other partners are doing to support new ventures in the state. For more entrepreneurship and small business resources in Utah, including venture capital firm and angel investor group listings, see Startup State Resources.
Rural Employment Development Incentive Grant
GOEO’s Rural Employment Development Incentive (REDI) grant is for businesses of any size creating new full-time, well-paying jobs in the state’s rural counties or cities/town with a population of 10,000 or less. The new jobs must pay 100% or more of the county’s average annual wage to qualify for grants ranging from $4,000–$6,000 per position, depending on location, up to $250,000 total per year. New positions may be remote, online, or in a satellite office, as long as the employee is working from a rural Utah location.
Utah Innovation Fund
The Utah Innovation Fund (UIF) is a state-run venture capital fund created by the Utah State Legislature in 2023, using $15 million in investment income from the state’s defunct Fund of Funds for business development. The UIF provides capital to Utah-based, early-stage companies commercializing technologies discovered, advanced, or developed at or in partnership with Utah’s higher education institutions. The fund’s partners include government (GOEO and the Utah Office of Energy Development), higher education institutions that help vet and refer potential investments, and venture capital firms who are encouraged to invest alongside UIF, as well as industry and business services partners. UIF’s current portfolio includes 10 companies spanning areas such as desalination, biometric authentication, health insurance verification software, advanced prosthetics, and epigenetics platforms. An October 2024 report to the Utah Legislature shows that UIF invested $1.8 million across 8 companies in its first year.
Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership Alliance (Utah-MEP)
The Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership Alliance (Utah-MEP) is the state’s NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) provider, focused on helping small- and medium-sized manufacturers grow and thrive. Led by the University of Utah Manufacturing Extension Partnership (UUMEP) in Salt Lake City, Utah-MEP brings together the resources of Utah manufacturing improvement organizations, universities, government partnerships, economic development initiatives, the trade group BioUtah, and the industry-university partnership 47G Utah Aerospace & Defense. Utah-MEP’s consulting services focus on sales, leadership development, compliance, production management, and advanced manufacturing technologies. Some services, such as domestic supplier scouting, are offered free of charge.
