The Danville Regional Foundation in Danville, Virginia, has announced a $10 million grant to the Southside Business Technology Center to help develop an entrepreneurship initiative for Danville and Pittsylvania and Caswell counties.

As part of the initiative and in collaboration with the Danville Office of Economic Development, SBTC, which will adopt a new name and relocate to a building in the river district that will also house startups, will focus its efforts on recruiting, developing, and retaining entrepreneurs in the Dan River region. Among other things, the organization will offer entrepreneurs — both local and from outside the region — help with seed fund management, business consulting and mentoring, and incubation services.

SBTC will begin accepting applications from entrepreneurs after it completes the legal and preparatory work associated with the establishment of a seed fund and recruitment of new employees, which it believes will take about four months.

"In today's global economy, regions have to create new competitive advantage every day," said DRF president and CEO Karl Stauber. "Southern Virginia is doing this, but now we are taking it to the next level....The focus of this grant is attracting and retaining serial entrepreneurs, people who will create multiple new businesses over time, hiring high-skilled, high-wage employees. Branch plants will continue to be an important part of our economy, but now we will have a platform to make our region even more attractive."