The Ohio Export Internship Program matches businesses interested in growing exports with highly motivated college students who have taken export-focused coursework. The Ohio Department of Development offers participating small to medium-sized businesses a 50 percent reimbursement for the wages of the intern.

This is an incredibly exciting and auspicious time for Ohio’s bioscience, health and life sciences industries, with incredible growth and massive record investment in recent years. In 2020, bioscience companies in the state attracted a record $3.3 billion from sources including venture capital, exits, angel investment, federal research grants and other state initiatives.

Government finance types have been in a mad scramble since March 2021 to answer the how, where and on what riddles to spending their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. As is well-known, the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 public health emergency has pushed billions of dollars into state and local governments’ coffers. Thus leading to heady conversations – often with lawyers in tow – as to what are eligible expenses and what aren’t.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority’s financing programs had another tremendous year with a total of over $30 million financed through its multiple programs. Through the Small Business Administration 504 loan program, five projects were closed totaling nearly $2 million, and five projects were financed through the Northwest Ohio Bond Fund totaling over $28 million – the second highest year since inception of the Bond Fund in 1988. In addition, the Port Authority’s BetterBuildings Northwest Ohio (BBNWO) program closed on $1,358,000 in energy improvement projects through its Energy Special Improvement District.

Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) kicked off its second cohort of Uptown Cincinnati’s Talent Kitchen Cabinet (TKC) in November, convening a group of young people to provide input and insights that will inform UCI’s work in the community. This second cohort consists of nine University of Cincinnati students with diverse backgrounds and interests who will focus on how Uptown can become a place where young talent wants to be and fuel innovation.