New Jersey’s Economic Development Authority has begun accepting applications for its New Jersey CoVest Fund, which is meant to provide financial support for early-stage technology companies seeking to expand commercial operations.
The N.J. CoVest Fund was approved by the EDA board in April to fund between 12 and 30 companies over the next three years as part of the agency’s overall goal to grow New Jersey’s innovation economy.
The fund is designed to provide support for new technology companies that have difficulty acquiring traditional loans. Eligible companies can receive funding through convertible notes that can be converted into cash value (or equity stake) by having companies make a negative pledge not to impair the intellectual property of the technology or springing a lien on that intellectual property, which would allow the EDA to sell the lien of an intellectual property if the company does not succeed. Details of individual deals are subject to negotiated rates.
A full list of requirements for applying can be found on the EDA’s website.