To a packed room at Forward Biolabs on Madison’s west side, Gov. Tony Evers, economic development officials, and investors, announced the launch of the Wisconsin Investment Fund to offer aid to local entrepreneurs. The $100 million fund will invest in local companies with the goal of preventing brain drain from the Badger State to others that already have pools of venture capital. Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Secretary Missy Hughes used the occasion to announce the five member committee that will oversee the fund.
MADISON (WKOW) – To a packed room at Forward Biolabs on Madison’s west side, Gov. Tony Evers, economic development officials, and investors, announced the launch of the Wisconsin Investment Fund to offer aid to local entrepreneurs.
The $100 million fund will invest in local companies with the goal of preventing brain drain from the Badger State to others that already have pools of venture capital.
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) Secretary Missy Hughes used the occasion to announce the five member committee that will oversee the fund.
The fund is a 50/50 split between public money from the federal government’s State Small Business Credit Initiative and private investments from a handful of venture capitalists. Evers envisioned a future where the fund grows business in the state and sees a massive return on its stakes in startups.
“As the businesses that receive these investments start to grow, the value of the fund will grow with them,” Evers said. “And this will create new opportunities to help even more businesses expand. In fact, over time, we expect the value of this fund to grow exponentially.”
The state venture fund is just the latest in a slew of announcements from WEDC, Wisconsin’s semi-public economic development arm.
In the last several months, the entity has announced Wisconsin’s designation as a tech hub by the federal government, huge new expansion projects by Kikkoman and Purina in Jefferson County.
Hughes celebrated the moment of success Wisconsin is currently enjoying, while acknowledging that more work remains, and WEDC cannot do all of it alone.
“There’s always work to do, we want to make sure that we continue to invest in our universities and our tech colleges,” Hughes said. “You know, people who want to stay in Wisconsin want the quality of life, they want the communities that we have. So there’s a lot to protect.”
