DevelopOhio

A new public-private partnership between Cuyahoga County and the nonprofit venture development organization JumpStart aims to “leverage county investments in innovation and entrepreneurship,” starting with $4.5 million in loans from the county to JumpStart, Cleveland.com reports. JumpStart “responded to a request for proposals in a competitive process aimed at launching county initiatives expected to attract venture capital and accelerate fast-growing businesses” in the county, according to the article. County Executive Armond Budish said, “[i]t is my greatest hope that this is just the start of the type of ongoing, transformational investments that we will be able to make in the future as our current financial condition strengthens.” The average investment JumpStart makes in tech companies is $380,000; CEO Ray Leach said, “[w]e’re going to continue to do what we used to do, but now we’re also going to be making investments that range from $750,000 to $1.5 million . . . we’re going to invest larger amounts in tech start-ups.” Leach said the larger investments will “make it easier for companies to attract funds from other parts of the country.” For more, read the full article.