CAMDEN -- The Rutgers Camden Technology Campus, Inc., has received a $350,000, one-year grant from the U.S. Economic Development Authority.
The funds will support the design and establishment of a technology conferencing facility; interactive Web site design and maintenance; and continued operations of the RCTC, a mixed-use business incubator located in the City of Camden.
This fall, the RCTC is relocating into the new Camden Waterfront Technology Center, where the Rutgers business growth initiative will serve as the lead anchor tenant in the New Jersey EDA-owned facility. The US EDA grant support will allow the RCTC to provide state-of-the-art conferencing space and support for its anticipated 75 on-site and virtual businesses.
Moreover, the grant will allow the RCTC to expand its efforts to serve as a catalyst for the economic revitalization of the City of Camden, while also attracting angel investors, venture capital, and federal support to the city and the region, says RCTC CEO Peter Gold, senior associate dean of the Rutgers University School of Business at Camden.
The RCTC currently serves 35 on-site client companies and 15 virtual client companies, representing 155 jobs with a combined payroll of $6 million. These positions represent skilled jobs that otherwise might not have located in Camden.
This investment in business incubation at Rutgers-Camden holds great promise for business growth in New Jersey and our region, says Mitchell Koza, dean of the Rutgers University School of Business at Camden. Through Rutgers efforts, as well as those of our partners and neighbors, Camden is building a reputation as a city ready to nurture business innovation and development.
President Bush is committed to ensuring that no community or demographic group is excluded from the opportunity to achieve the American dream, says Sandy K. Baruah, assistant U.S. secretary of commerce for economic development. To that end, this EDA investment will serve as a foundation for future economic successes that will benefit both families and businesses in Camden.
This is the second US EDA grant to the RCTC. In 2003, the agency provided an $850,000 investment to the RCTC as leverage to create a multimillion-dollar venture capital fund in the City of Camden, thereby encouraging business growth in both the city and the southern New Jersey region.
Primary funders for the RCTC include the Delaware River Port Authority and the New Jersey Technology Council. Launched in 2003, the Rutgers Camden Technology Campus currently is located at Virtua Health Cares Camden facility.
The mixed-use business incubator has netted exceptional economic development results during the past three years.
Four companies in the Rutgers Camden Technology Campus, Inc., have received private sector capital and other investment. These companies now are located in the metro Philadelphia region, where they pay taxes, purchase goods and services, and contribute to the economy.
RCTC company employees may access a complete portfolio of general and targeted business advice, services, and skills training that is transferable to many situations. The RCTC delivers such essential services for entrepreneurs as access to capital, individual and multidisciplinary professional team consulting, Rutgers MBA student support, shared conference and office support, and more.
The RCTC provides office, laboratory, and light manufacturing space in a sub-market cost environment. It is situated in, and leverages, such government incentive zone programs as the Empowerment Zone and the Urban Enterprise Zone. It also provides recommendations to various government agencies and private-public partnerships regarding access to financial incentive and other programs.
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