Governor Whitmer has proposed the Michigan Mainstreet Initiative which has three programs to provide capital and services support to locally-owned small businesses, the lifeblood of Michigan's communities.
$125 million to provide grants for businesses that did not qualify or apply for other incentives, like the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
$100 million to help restaurants and other place-based businesses cover costs by providing grants up to $20,000 for mortgage, rent, taxes, payroll and other operating expenses.
$75 million to provide grants to startups that can help our communities thrive.
Michigan has three proposals that will support better job creation - one that supports Michigan's transition into the electric vehicle industry, one that invests in shoring up its startup ecosystem and one that builds capacity to attract talent and scales up successful programming to retain STEM talent.
The $40 million EV friendliness investment would ramp up electric vehicle adoption and industry leadership.
Strong Michigan venture firms are a critical factor in the success of Michigan startups. Venture-backed companies create roughly 10% of new jobs nationally.
To address the COVID-amplified challenge of labor force demand-supply mismatches, this investment takes a two-prong approach to attract and retain talent.