Programs
Incentives and programs tailored to Help you grow.
Alabama is known for its hospitality. Innovate Alabama welcomes innovators and businesses of all kinds with a comprehensive suite of incentives and programs, including those specially designed for underrepresented groups. Explore the programs below to see how you can use our business hospitality to your advantage.
$125M
Capital Allocated
$49.5M
Tax Credits in 2023 & 2024
5,000+
Students engaged across the state
168
Innovate Alabama Network Partners
- Community Partnership of the Year from UAB’s Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Talent Development
Emerging Innovation Scholars (BIG Ideas)
Emerging Innovation Scholars (BIG Ideas), launched by The University of Alabama Honors College in collaboration with Innovate Alabama, consists of a student innovation contest focused on progressing young entrepreneurs and developing ideas.
Talent Development
FuelAL
FuelAL, a program in partnership between the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and Innovate Alabama, connects undergraduate and graduate students to a region and its employers through activities that showcase Alabama’s unique assets, from sporting events and downtown concerts to beachside festivals and hikes in Alabama’s beautiful parks.
Talent Development
HBCU Innovation Experience
The HBCU Innovation Experience, a collaboration between The Alabama Collective and Innovate Alabama, offers a multi-phased approach to expose students to Alabama’s countless opportunities, educate students and faculty with training courses, empower students with statewide events and engage entrepreneurs with app design and business pitch competitions.
Access to Resources
Innovate Alabama Network
The Innovate Alabama Network serves as a comprehensive resource that connects communities, nonprofits and higher education institutions across the state who are fostering innovation in their own backyard. Through this designation program, Innovate Alabama provides resources and funding to those who are shaping the state’s ecosystem.
Talent Development
Innovate Alabama Talent Pilot Program
The Innovate Alabama Talent Pilot Program supports Alabama-based companies developing bold, scalable solutions to strengthen the state’s workforce. By funding innovative approaches to work-based learning, paid internships and talent development in STEM and entrepreneurship, the program helps build a future-ready talent pipeline aligned with Alabama’s economic priorities.
Talent Development
QuantHub Alabama Data Scholars
The QuantHub Alabama Data Scholars Internship Program places high school juniors and seniors from around the state into paid learning experiences to grow their competitive data literacy skills and to engage them with careers in data science.
Access to Resources
State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)
Alabama’s State Small Business Credit Initiative is a program designed to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. LendAL aims to stimulate private sector lending by partnering with private lenders to extend credit to small businesses, fostering growth, innovation and job creation across the state. InvestAL offers high-match investments, connecting investors with early-stage startups and venture capital organizations.
Access to Resources
Supplemental Grant Program
The Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant Program provides additional funding for small businesses whose proven business models and technologies are helping accelerate innovation in the state.
Access to Resources
Tax Credit Program
To create a flourishing ecosystem in Alabama where tech accelerators and businesses thrive, Innovate Alabama offers tax incentives to help entrepreneurial support organizations do what they do best: provide the tools, resources and opportunities that help founders level up their companies.
Innovation Stories
