South Carolina has done a good job attracting large employers such as Boeing and BMW, but it needs to do more to encourage innovation and tech-related entrepreneurial activity, according to a new report from the S.C. Department of Commerce.
“Cultivating and supporting a strong innovation sector is critical for the future of our economy,” S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said in a statement.
Last updated in 2013, the Commerce Department this month released the new South Carolina Innovation Plan, which is intended to guide the growth of innovation and tech-related entrepreneurial activity in the state.
It encourages more business startups like those at Spartanburg Community College’s Center for Business and Entrepreneurial Development in Duncan and the bGEN incubator in Gaffney.
The plan also notes significant South Carolina firsts, everything from the introduction of sweet tea in 1890 in Summerville to the first electrically powered cotton gin, which was invented in 1897 in Anderson.
The same kind of entrepreneurial spirit should be encouraged — and funded — so that South Carolina can expand its manufacturing successes into other sectors, such as science and technology, the plan says.
Among its recommendations:
- Giving the same attention to business incubator startups that larger companies get at groundbreakings and grand openings — with a big splash attended by many dignitaries.
- Recruiting innovation companies from other states “that are on the cutting edge of their fields.”
- Broadening the SC Launch program, which offers grants of up to $200,000. The program has a $6 million annual cap, and the plan states raising the cap will benefit more startups.
- Increasing the size and scope of the angel investor state income tax credit, which is set to expire in 2019. The tax credit offered to startups is up to 35 percent of the investment.
- Increasing communication between industry and higher education.
- Study expansion of broadband internet service to serve businesses in the innovation sector.
- Encourage communities to provide affordable office space for innovators.
One way to measure the growth is the number of patents issued to South Carolinians, which demonstrates innovation. It has mostly gone up each year, from 524 in 2008 to 1,058 in 2015.
Generally, there seems to be widespread support for the idea that smaller businesses deserve the same encouragement as larger ones.
But…