Business accelerator accepting applications

The Alaska Interior Business Accelerator is accepting applications for its second cohort. The accelerator is designed to help new businesses through mentorship, networking, education and access to capital.

Aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners from the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Denali Borough and Southeast Fairbanks and Yukon-Koyukuk census areas are welcome to apply. The accelerator will culminate in a pitch competition with a prize award, and participants are eligible for microcredentials through the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The accelerator is a collaboration between the UAF Center for Innovation, Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, the Fairbanks Economic Development Corp., the Alaska Small Business Development Center, and the UAF Community and Technical College. In the spring 2022, 10 small businesses graduated from the first accelerator, gaining mentorship and help on developing their business plan and strategies to run a successful small business.

"The Alaska Interior Business Accelerator is one of a kind,” said Russ Talvi, director of the Alaska Small Business Development Center. “The AIBA team provides all the information you need to launch and grow an early stage business in just eight weeks, along with a group of like-minded small business owners and friends doing the same."

The deadline to apply is Sept. 23. The eight-week in-person program costs $74 and will take place in Fairbanks. For more information or to apply, visit www.interioraccelerator.com.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Mark Billingsley, Center ICE director, mcbillingsley@alaska.edu, 907-474-2626; Jomo Stewart, president and CEO of FEDC, fedc@ak.net, 907-452-2185; Russ Talvi, business advisor and Fairbanks Center director, SBDC, russell.talvi@aksbdc.org, 907-456-7062; Mark Young, associate professor and program chair for applied business and accounting, UAF CTC, mdyoung2@alaska.edu, 907-455-2862