Delaware Division of Small Business offering new opportunities via revamped EDGE program

Winners of the most recent EDGE Grant round were congratulated by Secretary of State Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez and DSB Director CJ Bell and included STEM Group members Dr. Leo Kim and colleague of Higher Medicine Inc.; Dennis Wysocki and Karen Lai of Essence Infusing; Rachel Parker and Dustin Parker of Archie; and Steen Ooi of Livestock Labs.

Competition for more than $1.15M in state funding adds pitch components, with information webinar set August 6 and applications accepted August 8 through September 5

July 23, 2025

Delaware’s EDGE Grant competition is back, revamped and reimagined. EDGE 2.0 is an updated, supercharged competition for $1.15M in grant funding to help take small businesses to the next level of success.

EDGE stands for Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion. It is the flagship funding program of the Delaware Division of Small Business (DSB), which has distributed nearly $8.0M in EDGE awards to 120 small businesses in the last six years.

“After months of thoughtful conversations, we are excited to finally share the details about EDGE 2.0,” said DSB Director CJ Bell. “This modern version of EDGE creates clear pathways to scale, driven by collaboration with resource partners across Delaware’s innovation ecosystem.”

EDGE 2.0 remains focused on helping Delaware business owners who want to start a new business or have been around for less than seven years – when most small businesses need the most support. Funding can be used for purchasing equipment that can increase production capacity, improving building infrastructure, obtaining rental space or contracting for website design or a marketing campaign to help acquire more customers. To be eligible, businesses must be majority located (51% or more) in Delaware.

“Delaware small businesses are integral to our economy, and we’re committed to supporting them every step of the way,” said Governor Matt Meyer. “EDGE 2.0 will make it easier for new businesses to apply and add a new level of funding flexibility, opening doors to more Delaware entrepreneurs and making it easier for small businesses in every community to thrive.”

The program will continue to feature two established tracks – Entrepreneur and STEM. However, it now includes a dynamic pitch competition where finalists compete for scaled, flexible funding based on the strength of their pitch and application.

Other changes include:

  • A new online submission process.
  • No set number of winners, and no set amount awarded to each.
  • More funding, with up to $400,000 total available (60% increase) to Entrepreneur winners and up to $750,000 total available (50% increase) to STEM winners.
  • Up to 10 Entrepreneur finalists and up to 8 STEM finalists being selected to pitch.
  • Finalists and awardees will receive additional post-pitch, in-kind services and/or award supports, including memberships to networking organizations and expedited pathways to DSB funding programs and more.
  • Businesses employing 15 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees and have fewer than $700,000 in assets are now eligible to apply.

A webinar on how to fill out the EDGE application – including proposal templates – will be held 10 a.m. Wednesday August 6. Register to attend here.

Applications for EDGE 2.0 are being accepted from August 8 through September 5. Support materials – including the proposal templates, scoring rubric and the recordings of informational webinars – will be placed here.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to work with a DSB Regional Business Manager for initial guidance and feedback on how to improve their application before submission.

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