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MCE Clients and Friends,
We are thrilled to see more validation that our programs are generating bottom line results for Maine’s economy. Last month FocusMaine released their highly anticipated Impact Report highlighting how their leadership and support of organizations including MCE has generated impressive economic results for Maine businesses. Starting seven years ago, FocusMaine supported the launch of MCE’s Cultivator and MarketShare food accelerator programs as part of a comprehensive economic development strategy. These initiatives, combined with other partner programs, have generated over 1,200 new jobs, over $261.7 million in new revenue for Maine food and beverage producers and $71 million in earnings for Maine's food and beverage workforce. For more details see the full report here.
These results would not be possible without our skilled staff and expert mentor network. Naomi Neville, our new Food Accelerator Program Manager, adds to this expertise and has jumped right in. One of her recent responsibilities was serving as a judge for the Maine Cheese Guild’s Tasting Competition at the Maine Cheese Festival. (Tough assignment, but someone had to do it!) In addition to recruiting new clients and serving our 54 client food businesses, our food team is busy planning the upcoming Maine Food Producer Showcase and Golden Fork Awards scheduled for October 24 at Brick South at Thompson’s Point. This will be our second such B2B food industry event and will feature over 50 Maine businesses including our new FoodTech Maine cohort members. We are also planning a Food Export workshop at Pierce Atwood law offices on November 13th in partnership with Food Export USA.
Last month we announced the second cohort of six businesses participating in our pilot FoodTech Maine Program at a kick-off meeting at BerryDunn featuring an inspirational panel of Maine Founders. Wife and husband team Lizzi Ackerman and Matt LaCasse shared the story of how they created Birch Benders, a national pancake and waffle mix company, followed by Anna Steffaney, Founder, SearchLogic.
In an ongoing effort to reach more rural and traditionally underserved areas in Maine, MCE has partnered with the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, Walpole, to offer workshops and training programs to encourage economic diversification through entrepreneurship. The new programming is made possible by a three-year grant received from the Northern Border Regional Commission. Our first event is scheduled at the Washington Academy, East Machias, on November 16th and will focus on growing the aquaculture industry throughout Washington County. These efforts will be coordinated with the Island Institute, and their initiatives to boost resilience in vulnerable lobstering communities. MCE staffers also visited the Downeast Institute on beautiful Beal’s Island last month and toured Vinalhaven this summer.
Our Top Gun program is welcoming Upstart Maine, Orono, this year, covering the Bangor region and the Northern Maine Development Commission will once again offer Top Gun to communities of Houlton, Caribou, Eastport, and Machias.
Applications are open now until November 22 and we look forward to offering this great program to our newer regions, in addition to our long-standing partner Thomas College, Waterville and our Portland cohort in 2025. Learn more about our Top Gun program here.
As we wrap up our four-year BioStartup program, we are extending our earlier stage BioInnovate program with Program Manager Todd Keiller through FocusMaine support and collaboration with Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science. Todd has been providing IP and business coaching services to health/bioscience clients and Maine research institutions including the Bigelow Lab in East Boothbay. MCE is one of the partners on Bigelow Lab’s development of the recently announced Algal Innovation Center. This center, funded by a $6.9 million National Science Foundation grant, will complement Bigelow Labs’ $30 million campus expansion designed to support technology transfer and commercialization, among other things. There has been a surge of collaboration in the bioscience industry in Maine this year, as highlighted at the recent BioME annual meeting. MCE will continue to play a prominent role. I was recently invited to join the MTI Biotech Board as well as two other Maine groups supporting the life sciences and Maine’s blue economy.
On other fronts, MCE partnered with the planners of the second Maine Space Conference scheduled for October 24th and is supporting a space industry pitch competition for Maine businesses or innovators involved in the state’s emerging space industry. We also hosted a delegation from Iceland led by Brigadier General Diane Dunn, head of the Maine National Guard; Savnhildur Holm Valsdottir, Ambassador of Iceland; and Iceland’s Defense Attaché and Chief of Mission, as well as Ben Ford, a local attorney and Maine’s Honorary Consul of Iceland. This international collaboration builds on the work being done by the New England Ocean Cluster, and our collaboration with the Digital Den incubator program in Montenegro and the Balkans.
MCE has also joined the New England Venture Summit as an industry partner and will participate in their New England Venture Summit on December 10th and 11th at the Hilton Dedham in Massachusetts. This annual event brings together 1,000 VC’s, Angel Investors, Investment Bankers and Founders of companies featuring 150 speakers and 100 presentations. If you are interested in attending this event, you can learn more here.
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