Ann Arbor SPARK will manage a new six-county small business support hub backed by $1.25 million in state funding, expanding free coaching and consulting services to three additional counties beyond its current reach.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation selected SPARK as one of 11 regional hub operators statewide under its restructured Small Business Support Hub 2.0 program, according to an MEDC announcement approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund Board on Tuesday, July 28. The program consolidates 27 former hubs into 11, with $11.27 million in state-appropriated funding replacing the one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars that launched the original program in 2023.

The Southeast Michigan hub will serve Washtenaw, Jackson, Livingston, Monroe, Lenawee and Hillsdale counties. That doubles SPARK's previous footprint. Under the first version of the program, SPARK covered only Washtenaw, Livingston and Monroe counties.

"Each county will come forth as an equal partner, and we have an economic development leader in each county that's providing the technical assistance to the businesses in each county because they know their counties best," Kristine Nash-Wong, director of entrepreneurial services at SPARK East in Ypsilanti, told Concentrate Media.

The $1.25 million will be split mostly evenly among six partners: SPARK, Lean Rocket Lab in Jackson County, the Hillsdale County Economic Development Partnership, Lenawee Now, the Livingston Business Hub and Monroe County's Launch 734. SPARK receives a slightly larger share to cover its administrative role as lead organization.

The new hub merges two former hubs, one run by SPARK and one by Jackson-based Lean Rocket Lab.

SPARK's allocation lands in the middle of the 11 statewide hubs. The smallest grant went to the Northeast Michigan Council of Governments at $615,000; the largest, $2,595,750, went to TechTown Detroit. The MEDC received 115 applications for the program and reviewed 33 complete, eligible proposals through a 24-member evaluation committee.

Since launching its original hub in April 2024, SPARK East has coached more than 500 small business owners through free services including weekly in-person consulting, networking events and pitch workshops, Nash-Wong told Concentrate in May.

No specific launch date for SBSH 2.0 services has been announced. The MEDC disburses funds on a reimbursement basis tied to performance agreements with each hub operator.