Three More Michigan Startups Get Microloans, Bringing Companies $1.4M In First Year

Three Michigan companies have received a combined $140,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund program, managed by the Ann Arbor SPARK business incubator. This latest round means the program has invested a total of more than $1.4 million in 39 companies since it was started in July 2009.

Microloans range from $10,000 to $50,000 and are reserved for privately held companies based in Michigan.

The latest grant recipients are:

Detroit Electric: The Detroit-based developer of electric cars will use the loan to “provide some important necessities during the early stages of our expansion in the United States,” Albert Lam, Detroit Electric founder and chairman, says in a news release.

Ergun Technologies: Based in TechArb, the University of Michigan student incubator, Ergun develops a system called Own, which gives retail operation owners real-time remote access to all their stores’ cash registers. The company is aiming to reach the major coffeehouse microchains in Michigan with its Web-based point of sale system.

Local Orbit: Based in Ann Arbor, Local Orbit simplifies the process of buying food directly from local farmers for restaurants, institutions, and consumers. Erika Block, founder and CEO, says in a statement that the loan will enable the company to hire a full-time community manager and invest in software development.

Author: Howard Lovy

Howard Lovy is a veteran journalist who has focused primarily on technology, science and innovation during the past decade. In 2001, he helped launch Small Times Magazine, a nanotech publication based in Ann Arbor, MI, where he built the freelance team and worked closely with writers to set the tone and style for an emerging sector that had never before been covered from a business perspective. Lovy's work at Small Times, and on one of the first nanotechnology-themed blogs, helped him earn a reputation for making complex subjects understandable, interesting, and even entertaining for a broad audience. It also earned him the 2004 Prize in Communication from the Foresight Institute, a nanotech think tank. In his freelance work, Lovy covers nanotechnology in addition to technological innovation in Michigan with an emphasis on efforts to survive and retool in the state's post-automotive age. Lovy's work has appeared in many publications, including Wired News, Salon.com, the Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News, The Scientist, the Forbes/Wolfe Nanotech Report, Michigan Messenger, and the Ann Arbor Chronicle.