DECD provides $800K to FORGE for product development grants

By David Krechevsky

Paul Lavoie, chief manufacturing officer for Connecticut
Paul Lavoie, chief manufacturing officer for Connecticut. (Hartford Business Journal)

The state is providing more than $800,000 to a New Haven nonprofit that will use the money for a grant program to promote manufacturing innovation and product development.

The program was announced Wednesday by FORGE, a nonprofit that connects startups creating products with product development, manufacturing, and supply chain resources. It will receive $811,800 from the state Department of Economic and Community Development’s Manufacturing Innovation Fund (MIF), a state spokesperson said.

FORGE said it will use the funding to bridge a gap for startups by offering product development grants ranging between $30,000 and $100,000, while continuing to offer manufacturing readiness education and “facilitating right-fit connections” to local manufacturers.