New “cluster accelerator” for Central Virginia announced
If it’s good for start-ups, shouldn’t it be good for a multi-county region?
That seems to be the thinking of organizations behind a newly announced accelerator initiative in Central Virginia covering 17 cities and counties that comprise the Greater Petersburg and Greater Richmond areas. Activation Capital, a leading entrepreneurship and ecosystem development organization based in Richmond will lead the “cluster accelerator” that is designed to catalyze the growth of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing and R&D in the region.
According to the announcement, a coalition of private-public entities from Greater Petersburg and Greater Richmond helped form the accelerator, secured $2.5 million in seed funding from GO Virginia and others, and appointed Activation Capital as the organizing entity. It is described as a first-of-its-kind initiative for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Unlike an accelerator program where individual companies progress through a program, this one was created to accelerate an entire region through novel application of entrepreneurial mindset and methodologies for creating and scaling industry.
