1. US & Texas grants & awards
North America has many innovation grants available currently – some are for Texas only and some are wider North America.
North America
- Fresh Start Business Grant $2,500 for education – deadline 30th June, apply here
- Deloitte Technology Fast 500 – deadline 7th July, apply here
- America’s Top Small Business Awards £25,000 cash prize – deadline 7th July, apply here
- AccelerateHER Incubator Program – deadline 9th July – apply here
- 2023 TechTitans Grand Challenge: Where AI Benefits the Social Good – deadline 4th August – apply here
- Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) $500,000 in grants – deadline 15th August, apply here
- 2023 Tech Transfer Office Showcase (for academic institutions) – deadline 21st August, apply here
- Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp – deadline 8th September, apply here
- USPTO’s Patents for Humanity Green Energy Award – deadline 15th September, apply here
- S. Department of Transport Intersection Safety Challenge $6 million in grants, apply here
- Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Cohort – 12 weeks training
- Patagonia Corporate Grant Program $20,000 grants – apply here
Texas
- The Dallas100™ – deadline 30th June, apply here
- Founders First Texas Job Creators Quest Grant and Accelerator £100,000 in grants – deadline 7th August, apply here
There are many more available here.
2. Modi visits US
Source: Jacobin
The Indian Prime Minister Modi visited the Unites States President Joe Biden and gave his first news conference since he took office 9 years ago.
They terminated 6 outstanding WTO disputes during the 3-day visit.
The economist notes that India is a huge buyer of Russia’s oil.
Only 3 other people in history have addressed a joint session of US Congress the others being Winston Churchill, Nelson Mandela and Volodymyr Zelensky.
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4. Australia EU trade agreement nearly there
Caleb JmuyB via Unsplash
Australia’s trade minister Don Farrell visited Europe recently for the final round of trade negotiations on an EU-Australia free trade agreement that has been through 15 rounds of negotiations since June 2018.
Agriculture is proving the be the most difficult conversation with both sides not wanting to expose their farmers to competition. In addition, geographical indications for example Prosecco, Champagne, fetta cheese and parmesan would mean a change for Australian food producers they are not willing to accept.
Australia’s recent exports to China in early June increased whilst Chinese imports from the US, Japan and South Korea decreased.
Although not geographically close, Australia and the EU have similar values. A trade agreement would give the EU a different option than Russia or China for imports, and Australia would diversify exports away from China.
5. Doing business in Indonesia
Standard Chartered Bank has reported that Indonesia will be the world’s fourth largest purchasing economy by 2030.
The Indonesian Government is offering a range of incentives to encourage foreign investment.
Corporate tax incentives are available in the form of reduced tax rates and deferred payment dates.
Indonesia ranks 73rd out of 129 countries in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report (2019).
In 2020 Indonesia enacted the ‘Omnibus Law’ which is 76 separate laws aimed at job creation including abolishing minimum wage be sector; however this was ruled unconstitutional in 2021. The Government has been instructed to ‘rectify’ the law to make it legal however the Constitutional Court’s ruling did not address any provisions to be amended and it is not clear whether there are currently any plans for the legislation to be amended.
6. New $1bn Mexico car plant
Jezael Melgoza via Unsplash
South Korean car manufacturer Kia has announced it will invest $1 billion building a new factory in Nuevo Leon near the existing Kia factory.
The new operations will manufacture two new electric vehicles and make Kia eligible for subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Mexico has been having an influx of new investments in 2023 with FDI up a reported 48%. Kentucky drinks manufacturer Brown-Forman has announced $200 million tequila expansion, Taiwanese Quanta Computer has announced a $1 billion expansion to its current $500 million facility, DHL Express is investing $120 million to expand an existing hub and German technology company ZF Group is investing $43 million to expand an existing facility.
7. Costa Rica tops FDI per GDP
Image Investment Monitor
Last year we wrote about Costa Rica’s number 1 spot globally for FDI per GDP. This year it tops the charts again followed by North Macedonia, the UAE and Serbia.
Costa Rica scored 12.7 which indicates that it attracts 12.7x more FDI than a similar sized country.
Costa Rica is home to 16 of the top 100 top technology companies globally and exports twice the amount of exports than the average OECD country.
Costa Rica has a stable economy and politics. Coyol Free Zone has won many awards and is strategically located. It is focused on the life sciences sector and is home to 7 of the top 30 global medical device companies.
Featured image Carlos Alfonso via Unsplash
