Across the nation, local governments are recognizing that economic competitiveness depends on their ability to innovate and are launching initiatives to support startup communities. This week, the City of Sacramento and the City of Elk Grove both announced new initiatives supporting innovation in their respective cities.

Yesterday, the Elk Grove City Council approved the Startup Elk Grove Incentive Program, a program designed to support the launch, growth, and attraction of innovative startup companies in Elk Grove by providing a mix of financial, permitting, and site selection assistance to entrepreneurs, startups, and operators of co-working, incubator, and accelerator spaces.

The program seeks to identify and invest in startups that will grow rapidly and become the future large company anchors of Elk Grove’s and the region’s economy. The program also seeks to develop and support a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem in Elk Grove comprised of facilities, capital, talent, and other assets that startups need to be successful.

Startup Elk Grove has three components. “Launch” provides incentives up to $10,000 and city-paid co-working tuition to early stage entrepreneurs and newly established startups. “Scaleup” provides incentives up to $150,000, permit expediting, and site selection assistance for startups that demonstrate high growth potential looking to scale operations in Elk Grove. “Spaces” provides incentives up to $250,000, permit expediting, and site selection assistance for proven operators of co-working, incubators, or accelerators. Incentives will be structured as loans that convert to grants, and no equity position is taken.

“Fostering an innovation economy in Elk Grove is a critical component of the City Council’s economic development strategy,” said Economic Development Director Darrell Doan. “Economies that don’t innovate, stagnate. People know us for tech blue chips like Apple and ALLDATA, but they will soon know us for startups and innovation.”

Meanwhile, the City of Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced yesterday that the City of Sacramento will be joining City Innovate’s Startup in Residence program, connecting government agencies with startups to co-create new technology solutions that address Sacramento’s civic challenges.