Detroit To Award $1K Microgrants to Local Startups Through New Small Business Fund

Detroit has launched a microgrant program to help local small businesses adopt essential technology and drive economic growth.

Detroit is boosting its local business sector with a new fund offering $1,000 microgrants to small, city-based businesses.

The Detroit Small Business Technology Fund is designed to help the city’s smallest businesses adopt essential technology. Backed by the Rocket Community Fund, it will provide $1,000 grants to 140 Detroit-based businesses with 10 or fewer employees and under $500,000 in annual revenue.

“Small businesses are the heart of Detroit’s economy, and they deserve access to the tools that help them grow and succeed,” Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a statement. “This funding will make it easier for neighborhood small businesses to modernize, reach more customers, and operate more efficiently.”

The grants are tech-focused, with recipients encouraged to use them for hardware, software, and emerging tech tools that enhance daily operations, including laptops, point-of-sale systems, accounting and e-commerce software, and AI platforms.

“Strong neighborhoods are anchored by thriving small businesses,” said Justin Onwenu, director of the Office of Small Business Services and Economic Opportunity for the City of Detroit. “When we invest in our small businesses, we invest in the families they support, the jobs they provide, the communities they serve, and the future we are building together.”

Administered by Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), the technology fund is designed around a local economic flow model in partnership with nine trusted business and neighborhood organizations that will identify grantees.

Each partner will award 10 to 20 grants to small businesses, which must be affiliated with one of the partner organizations to qualify. Participating groups include the Southwest Detroit Business Association, Michigan Black Business Alliance, and Michigan Women Forward.

“Technology is no longer optional. It is foundational,” said Sean Gray, DEGC’s vice president of small business services. “By giving Detroit microbusinesses access to modern tools and connecting them with trusted support organizations, we are strengthening Detroit’s local economy from the ground up.”

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