KILAUEA — Nonprofit Common Ground Foundation has announced its second cohort of its Business Incubator program.
Common Ground Incubator, led by instructor Dirk Soma, is looking to cultivate the next generation of Hawai‘i-based food, beverage, and farm-based entrepreneurs to establish Hawai‘i as a food innovation hotspot. Incubator cohorts will have the opportunity to develop strategic growth goals and business plans, and will be allotted $10,000 per company for approved expenditures to assist with achieving strategic growth plan goals.
To be eligible, companies must show revenues of less than $350,000 annually with a demonstrable connection to Hawai‘i-grown ingredients. They must have niche products that have reached the market with global demand potential.
Cohort 2 instructional sessions start July 28 and will continue each Thursday through Sept. 29 from 9 to 11 a.m.
Sessions are held in-person at the Common Ground campus with the option of switching to Zoom, if necessary. Participant time commitment for the course is between four and five hours, weekly, including the instructional sessions that are two hours in length. Individual one-on-one sessions with the program instructor will be held weekly, and are at the discretion of the participant and program instructor to coordinate.
During October, the program will culminate with a ho‘ike where participants present their companies and celebrate the completion of the program.
The Common Ground Incubator was initially launched in 2020, in part through funding provided by a CARES Act grant from the County of Kaua‘i, the Kupa‘a Kaua‘i program, in partnership with Kaua‘i Federal Credit Union.
Companies supported in Cohort 1 include Aloha Ginger Beer, Crossroads Pastures, ‘Ekahi Market, Growbot, Hawai‘i Peeps, Rancher’s Daughters Reserve, Moloa‘a Organics, My Hawai‘i Honey Co., Outpost Coffee, and Secret Harvest.
Deadline for interested early-stage food and beverage lifestyle entrepreneurs on Kaua‘i is July 15. For questions, or application for the program, email program director Sarah Wright at sarah@commongroundkauai.com.
The CG Foundation is dedicated to furthering the development of agriculture, arts and education in Hawai‘i. Individuals or organizations interested in supporting the program should contact cgfoundation@commongroundkauai.com.
