Augusta’s newest small business incubator is laying out an ambitious schedule for its first full year in operation.
Executive Director Shaun Andrews told ABD they will be focusing on what he called the Three “Fs”: Foundation, funding, and the future for entrepreneurs.
Accelerate Augusta, a partnership between Augusta Technical College and the Downtown Development Authority, officially opened in October 2025. It is in the former Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce building at 600 Broad Street.
The microenterprise center was created to support entrepreneurs, start-ups, and help local small businesses develop and grow.
“The first part of the year is going to be foundation, bringing people up to speed on what it takes to build a business, start a business,” he explained. “For the second quarter, we’re going to be focusing on funding. So, as our businesses go through our processes of getting them bankable, getting the process of customer service, and all the things you need to build the business up, we’re going to make sure that they are positioned for funding.”
Toward the end of the year, the focus will shift more to the future, highlighting scalability, sustainability, and scope.
Among the offerings this year will be information about applying for a micro-grant. They are easy to apply for grants for smaller amounts that can help jumpstart a business.
“I just had an individual here, he started his technology company, and he needed to get his first legal documentation done. It was about $1,500 packaged up,” explained Andrews. “It doesn’t take a huge capital investment for some of these stories. So, what we want to do is make sure that we are connecting folks to opportunities that can give them small chunks of money to get them over that first hurdle.”
Also coming up this month is Mission: Accelerate Labs. It is a partnership with Accelerate Augusta, Mission United, and the United Way. The program targets Veteran-owned small businesses. The goal is to help those businesses succeed in obtaining contracts. It will also develop a pipeline to hire veterans and military spouses.
They are also developing a program for minority and women-owned businesses. It is in collaboration with the City of Augusta and will help the businesses achieve the necessary certifications and access opportunities to bid on contracts for city projects.
A returning favorite is the Local Grind, a more casual gathering of current and hopeful small business owners and entrepreneurs.
“We see folks coming in who are new, but we see that folks are building a community around Accelerate Augusta and around these events,” said Andrews. “What we’re seeing is a lot of things just organic. We’re seeing businesses come in that are helping each other. We’re seeing businesses that are doing deals across the table at our events. What I ultimately want to see is the sustainability. I want to see folks hire folks in the community. I want to see folks open storefronts.”
Andrews sees being in the former chamber building as a bridge to honor its original mission of serving businesses, large, small, and developing.
“We’re here for everybody. I don’t want people to think that we are excluding any type of person, any type of community, or any type of stage of entrepreneurship. We are helping businesses that range from $0 to up in the high six figures,” he said. “Our mission is to focus on people out into the community.”
Learn more about programs at Accelerate Augusta at: https://accelerateaugusta.org/
