Missouri State Trade & Expansion Program (MO STEP=UP)

Missouri State Trade & Expansion Program (MO STEP=UP) is sponsored by Missouri Department of Economic Development (administered through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration). The MO STEP program offers small businesses grant opportunities to fund qualifying international activities that further the importance of exporting in the state.

The aim is to increase the number of small businesses exporting and the value of exports for current exporters.

Best Business Grants in Missouri | FundingTrail The Best Business Grants in Missouri Securing capital is often the biggest hurdle for any founder. While loans and credit cards are common, they come with the weight of repayment and interest. Grants are the ideal alternative because they generally don't have to be paid back.

However, there is a catch: grants are highly competitive and can be very difficult to find. We've built this guide to help you understand the grant landscape in Missouri. Missouri's business grant landscape is defined by an unusually strong focus on startup attraction, with St.

Louis and Kansas City running parallel ecosystems of competitive, equity-free grants designed to bring entrepreneurs and early-stage companies to each city. St. Louis anchors its side through Arch Grants, which awards $75,000 plus relocation support to startups willing to headquarter in the city.

Kansas City counters with LaunchKC and Digital Sandbox KC, offering grants to startups that relocate or develop new technology in the region. Beyond the startup competitions, Missouri offers smaller local programs supporting business improvements and growth in Columbia and Atchison County, plus the KC G. I.

F. T. program, which provides capital and coaching specifically for African American-owned businesses in Kansas City.

Award sizes range from $2,000 improvement grants up to $100,000 for the most competitive startup awards, with a mix of rolling and fixed deadlines. Missouri businesses with international expansion goals should also explore the Missouri State Trade & Expansion Program: Unlimited Opportunities (MO STEP=UP), the state-administered version of the federal STEP grant program.

Administered by the Missouri Department of Economic Development through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, MO STEP=UP offers grants to fund qualifying international activities, with the goal of helping more Missouri small businesses begin exporting and helping current exporters grow the value of their international sales.

For more information and details on where to apply, check out our grant page for the State Trade Expansion Program . While Missouri's state grant landscape is more limited than some larger states, Missouri businesses are eligible for hundreds of national grant programs from federal agencies, corporations, and foundations that often offer larger award sizes and broader eligibility.

Those programs aren't covered on this page, but you can search our complete grant database to see every state and national grant your business qualifies for. You can also to get new Missouri grants delivered to your inbox as soon as they open.

Arch Grants Startup Competition The Arch Grants Startup Competition awards early-stage startups with $75,000 in equity-free grant funding — plus an additional $25,000 for relocation costs — in exchange for headquartering their business in St. Louis, Missouri for at least one year. Administered by Arch Grants, a St.

Louis-based nonprofit, the competition conducts a worldwide search for innovative, scalable, and job-creating startups and evaluates applications through a panel of more than 400 industry experts from the St. Louis community and beyond.

In addition to the cash grant, awardees gain eligibility for follow-on Growth Grants funding of up to $100,000, along with a la carte programming, fundraising support, talent acquisition assistance, exclusive discounts, and access to the Arch Grants network. The competition champions founders with idea-stage to pre-Series A companies, innovative and scalable business models, technology-enabled solutions, and diverse founding teams.

To receive the grant, companies must locate their headquarters in the City of St. Louis for at least one year, have 51% of the founding team (or one founder and 51% of the team) living in St. Louis for the program year, and have at least one founder working on the company as their primary or full-time professional role.

KC Technology Venture Studio The Digital Sandbox KC Grant provides early-stage technology entrepreneurs and startups in the Kansas City region with up to $20,000 in proof-of-concept funding to support the development and validation of new digital technology innovations.

Administered by the Technology Venture Studio within the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Innovation Center and supported by partners including the Missouri Technology Corporation, the program is designed to help founders advance early-stage concepts toward commercialization and prepare them for follow-on funding.

Awardees are selected quarterly and, in addition to funding, receive critical project feedback, mentorship, and industry support. Funds may be used for proof-of-concept needs such as project personnel and consultants, market research and validation, equipment, prototyping, and beta testing.

Notably, the program does not fund businesses directly — instead, approved projects are funded through a contract between Digital Sandbox KC and a project vendor selected by the client business, and that vendor cannot hold any ownership stake in the company.

The program broadly serves new innovation in information technology, with past recipients working in areas such as mobile apps, big data, software platforms, hardware, tangible products, and health care IT. The Generating Income for Tomorrow (G. I.

F. T.) Grant is designed to accelerate the growth of African American-owned businesses in Kansas City.

It provides both capital and coaching to small businesses that demonstrate the potential for job creation and community impact. Grants for eligible businesses in the amount of $10,000 are available multiple times per year. There’s also an annual $100,000 grant awarded each year in July.

Businesses must be at least 51 percent Black-owned and must be geographically located within the Kansas City, MO, city limits. LaunchKC Grants Competition The LaunchKC Grants Competition awards early-stage startups with $60,000 in equity-free grant funding plus a year of support services in exchange for relocating their business to Kansas City, Missouri for at least one year.

Administered by LaunchKC (a nonprofit community benefit organization funded largely through the State of Missouri, the Missouri Technology Corporation, and the Kansas City community) the competition invests more than $500,000 into startups annually and searches nationwide for innovative, scalable, technology-enabled early-stage companies.

In addition to the cash grant, recipients receive free office space in Downtown Kansas City for one year, one-on-one mentorship with industry experts, curated programming and fundraising support, and access to the LaunchKC network of investors and partners.

Eligible applicants must be for-profit entities with technology-based products or services, operate a scalable business model, and be at the validated-idea stage or later (with a minimum viable product, customer discovery, or other market validation).

Applicants may come from anywhere in the U.S. or abroad but must agree to locate their headquarters or significant operations — including at least one full-time founder and 51% of full-time staff — in Kansas City, MO for the duration of the year-long program.

Retail businesses with brick-and-mortar storefronts, residential real estate businesses, investment vehicles, sports venues, gaming and gambling businesses, lodging establishments, entertainment-related establishments, and past LaunchKC cash-prize winners are not eligible. Applicants are selected through a competitive three-round judging process that culminates in live in-person pitches at the LaunchKC Finals.

Atchison Business Improvement Grant The ACDC Business Improvement Grant provides existing Atchison County, Missouri businesses with reimbursed matching grants of up to $2,500 to fund improvement projects that support business growth and development.

Administered by the Atchison County Development Corporation (ACDC) and funded through the county's quarter-cent economic development sales tax, the program offers two funding levels: a Basic grant, which reimburses up to 50% of eligible improvement costs to a maximum of $1,000, and a 2. 0 grant, which reimburses up to one-third of eligible costs to a maximum of $2,500.

Since 2013, the program has assisted with more than 182 projects, leveraging ACDC funds to complete over $1 million in business improvements countywide. Any Atchison County business that is current on taxes and licensure may apply, with businesses eligible for one ACDC grant per location every three years. Projects must be approved before work begins, and grants are issued as reimbursements after completion.

Applications are reviewed by a grant committee on a monthly basis and accepted in the order received until all available funds have been awarded. St. Louis Pop-Up Retail Program The Downtown St.

Louis Pop-Up Retail Program provides aspiring and existing business owners with grants of up to $15,000 to activate short-term pop-up retail shops in vacant storefronts in the Downtown and Downtown West neighborhoods of St. Louis. Administered by Greater St.

Louis, Inc. with support from the St. Louis Development Corporation, the program is designed to reduce barriers to entry for business owners while increasing street vibrancy, safety, and economic health through active storefronts, with the broader goal of fostering business development and potential permanent tenancy in these locations.

The grant covers up to six months of expenses associated with the pop-up activation, including monthly rent, utilities, labor, maintenance of the space during occupancy, and general liability insurance. Eligible applicants include prospective tenants considering opening a pop-up location in Downtown or Downtown West, as well as current tenants in those neighborhoods considering opening a second location as a pop-up.

All applicants must have the consent of their current or prospective landlord, and Greater St. Louis, Inc. may help identify a suitable space and willing property owner for applicants who have not yet secured one. Successful applicants are expected to propose concepts that appeal to a diverse customer base, complement surrounding businesses, and provide memorable experiences for customers and passersby.

Columbia Small Business Grant The Small Business Grant is designed to help Columbia, MO businesses grow, innovate, and improve operations. This competitive grant prioritizes businesses owned by residents of economically disadvantaged areas in Columbia and supports long-term community impact. Don't stop at state-level funding Most business grants aren't geographic, they're tied to your industry, your stage, or your team.

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