Alaska Interior Business Accelerator Launches

April 6, 2022

Interior Alaska now has its first business accelerator, a program to help jump-start new businesses through  mentorship, networking, education and access to capital.

The Alaska Interior Business Accelerator just closed the application period for its first cohort. The eight-week in-person program will take place in Fairbanks. To obtain more information, apply or ask a question, visit www.interioraccelerator.com.

Aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage business owners from the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Denali Borough and Southeast Fairbanks and Yukon-Koyukuk census areas will work with mentors on building skills that lead to success for small businesses in Alaska.  The accelerator will culminate in a pitch competition with a prize.

The accelerator is a collaboration between the University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for Innovation, Commercialization, and Entrepreneurship; the Fairbanks Economic Development Corp.; the Alaska Small Business Development Center and the UAF Community and Technical College.

Participants are eligible for microcredentials through the college.

“This accelerator is something that our community can really get behind and be proud of,” said Mark Billingsley, Center ICE director. “We all benefit from the launch of new businesses in the Interior, plus it’s fun and exciting.” 

“The Alaska Interior Business Accelerator is similar to, and inspired by, other programs in the state and throughout the country,” said Jomo Stewart, president and CEO of FEDC, “but we’re excited to have created something local that can be more flexible to the needs of the small businesses that are so important to Fairbanks.”

For more information please contact Mark Billingsley, director of Center ICE, mcbillingsley@alaska.edu