Are you a small business or startup in need of funding to grow or expand? Join the Division of Small Business (DSB) for an informational webinar that will provide details on how to apply for the Spring 2026 EDGE Grant Competition.
EDGE—short for Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion—is DSB’s flagship funding program, which has distributed $9.1M to 127 small businesses in the last six years.
An informational webinar on the spring EDGE requirements and how to fill out the online application and proposal templates will be held Thursday Jan. 29, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Register at de.gov/edge or at https://bit.ly/4iH22Sx.
In the fall of 2025, DSB unveiled EDGE 2.0, an updated, supercharged version of the competition featuring more available funding and post award supports. Most changes implemented will remain the same for this round.
There are no set number of winners and no predetermined award amount. Business owners can apply for either the Entrepreneur (most businesses) or STEM tracks. Applicants for the Entrepreneur track can apply for a portion of $400K in funding. Those in the STEM track can apply for a portion of a $750K pot.
Up to 10 Entrepreneur finalists and up to 8 STEM finalists will be selected to pitch. Finalists and awardees will receive additional post-pitch, in-kind services and/or post-award support to help them grow.
Several Milford area businesses have benefitted from the EDGE grant including My Sister’s Fault, Studio B, Parker Group, G&R Campground and Bayside Gymnastics.
Businesses eligible to apply for EDGE can be anyone who wants to start a new business or whose business has been in operation for less than seven years. The business must be majority located (51% or more) in Delaware, employ 15 or fewer full-time employees (2 PT = 1 FT) and have fewer than $700K in assets.
Applications for EDGE will be accepted from Friday Feb. 6 – Friday March 6, at 4:30 p.m. Support materials including the proposal templates and scoring rubric will be placed on de.gov/edge within the next two weeks.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to work with a DSB Regional Business Manager for initial guidance and then feedback on how to improve their application before submission.
Funding for EDGE 2.0 can be used for purchasing equipment that can increase production capacity, improving building infrastructure, obtaining rental space (purchasing property is not an eligible expense), or contracting for website design or a marketing campaign to help acquire more customers.
Learn more at de.gov/edge today!
