Government and Politics

Gov. Hogan Announce ‘Excel Maryland’, Reaffirms Commitment to Tech Startups


 

close up portrait of young medical researcher looking through miGovernor Larry Hogan launched a new initiative this May called Excel Maryland; it’s part of a new economic development strategy focused on promoting both life sciences and cybersecurity startups. Ultimately, Hogan hopes that supporting these industries will lead to new jobs and opportunities for Maryland residents.

Hogan announced the new initiative at the Hilton Baltimore on May 18 as part of the kick-off for his Business Summit 2017. The day-long summit, the first of its kind, was geared towards business leaders and covered a wide range of topics, from the future of manufacturing to redefining urban centers.

On the summit’s website, Hogan is quoted saying, “Great things are happening in Maryland. Our economic climate has gone from 49th in the nation to number 11 — the largest jump among states. Our companies are adding thousands of new jobs to our communities, nearly 100,000 since January 2015. We are making meaningful progress for business. Let’s capture this momentum!”

Gov. Hogan, following his own advice, attempted to grab the momentum and steer it towards the cybersecurity and biohealth industry, two issues which he has tried to foster in Maryland in the past.

At the summit, Hogan reiterated his comitment to these growing industries, according to Technical.ly Baltimore.

“Today’s launch of Excel Maryland will help pool the talents of all of our state agencies, our universities, and our private sector industry experts to help us create an environment in Maryland where more companies can start up her, and then stay here and continue growing their companies here,” Hogan said.

To achieve this goal, Hogan is assembling a committee, including out of state talent, and charging them with delivering a blueprint to help carry out his vision by the end of August.

In the past, the governor has backed proposed changes to cybersecurity tax credits and founded the Maryland Education Innovation Fund, which provides planning grants for schools to improve their STEM education.

While tech startups can have a long return on investment — a team of six to 10 people will often need as mush as six months or more to develop a single app — there is a consensus that enabling more new technology businesses is crucial to Maryland’s continued economic growth.

To that end, Hogan told Technical.ly Baltimore, “My goal is for the state to be the leader in entrepreneurship, the leader in innovation and next generation technology and the leader in groundbreaking research and discovery, that addresses some of the greatest medical mysteries of our time.”

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