GreenStone has made a $25,000 contribution to the Incubator.
Pictured from left to right: Cliff Meeuwsen and Don Disselkoen - Great Lakes Ag-Tech Business Incubator Board Members; Melissa Rogers, Melissa Humphrey and Mitch Schafer - GreenStone Farm Credit Services team members.
GreenStone Farm Credit Services Teams with Great Lakes Ag-Tech Business Incubator to Help Startup Businesses Grow
GreenStone Farm Credit Services, a leading rural community and agricultural lender, has made a $25,000 contribution to the Great Lakes Ag-Tech Business Incubator. The Incubator is a non-profit organization focused on helping farmers and entrepreneurs rapidly commercialize their ag-technology machinery, equipment or software ideas and inventions.
The contribution from the Michigan based ag-lender will be utilized by the Incubator to provide business startup services to clients. In addition to a financial sponsorship of the Incubator, GreenStone will offer its expertise to Incubator clients in areas such as financial counseling, lending to qualified clients and business finance training to clients and ag-tech entrepreneurs.
"For the last century, GreenStone has supported organizations, programs and initiatives dedicated to advancing agriculture. This partnership with the Great Lakes Ag-Tech Business Incubator fits with our commitment to help Michigan ag-technology based businesses get started and become successful," said Dave Armstrong, former President and CEO of GreenStone Farm Credit Services. The association joins seven other sponsors that provide financial support to the Incubator and industry-specific expertise to Incubator clients at deferred, discounted, or in some cases, pro bono rates.
The Incubator specializes in helping farmers, entrepreneurs and existing businesses commercialize, license, or sell their ag-technology inventions. The types of hands-on, customized business startup services provided by the Incubator team include, but are not limited to: validating business concepts; assessing intellectual property; confirming product engineering; preparing business plans and financial pro forma documents; developing markets and distribution channels for products; helping to obtain business financing; and connecting clients with manufacturing and agri-business experts to assist with prototyping and product testing.
Farmers, entrepreneurs and business owners who have an ag-technology idea or invention and would like more information about the business services offered by the Incubator can contact the Incubator team by email at info@agtechincubator.com or by phone at 616-738-4852. Additionally, any farmer interested in helping to review and/or test new ag-technologies being developed by Incubator clients should also contact the Incubator team.
