Maven Scouts Wins Prestigious SBA Growth Accelerator Award and is named Louisiana’s 2025 Veteran Sma
Monroe, LA – March 26, 2025 – Maven Scouts, a Monroe-based dual-use accelerator focused on national and economic security, was named a winner of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Stage 1 & 2 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) programs in 2024 and was recently recognized as Louisiana’s 2025 Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year. This honor places Maven Scouts among the nation’s top entrepreneurial support organizations driving innovation in underserved communities.
The award spotlights Maven Scouts’ groundbreaking work advancing emerging technologies in AI, edge computing, cybersecurity, medtech, and advanced materials—while fostering an inclusive innovation ecosystem across Louisiana’s I-20 Corridor. In just five years, Maven Scouts has helped over 50 startups secure more than $75 million in federal R&D and over $50 million in commercial investment, generating 450+ high-wage jobs in historically distressed regions since its inception.
“We built Maven Scouts to bring world-class opportunity to underserved innovators,” said Grant Rogers, CEO/Founder at Maven Scouts and Managing Partner-Tech Scout at Grind Ventures. “These awards are a win for the whole ecosystem—startups, veterans, students, and partners like Grind Ventures, and our academic and industry partners—who are solving America’s toughest problems and building generational prosperity right here in Louisiana. Support from our local, state and federal partners helps us increase the reach and impact small businesses can make by solving high-impact complex problems for our federal agency and commercial industry partners.”
This momentum comes at a pivotal moment for the region, as Meta recently announced a $10 billion, 4 million-square-foot data center in Richland Parish—just miles from Maven Scouts' headquarters. The facility, which will be Meta’s largest data center globally, highlights Northeast Louisiana’s emergence as a hub for next-generation infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and clean energy.
Maven Scouts is uniquely positioned to support this growth by cultivating the technologies, startups, and workforce that underpin digital infrastructure. Its accelerator model directly aligns with key sectors powering the Meta facility—including edge computing, power grid security, AI optimization, and high-performance materials for data center operations.
In partnership with Grind Ventures, a Louisiana-based dual-use venture fund, Maven Scouts is scaling its 15-week Defense Accelerator Program to identify, evaluate, and fund solutions with direct application in the 16 critical infrastructure sectors. Grind Ventures has committed over $5 million in seed-stage capital to Accelerator graduates.
With this expanded support and momentum, Maven Scouts is continuing its mission to serve over 10,000 individuals by 2028, including launching new partnerships with academic institutions, federal labs, and corporate leaders in aerospace, defense, AI, sensors/semiconductors, advanced materials, and edge/telecommunications.
To learn more, visit www.mavenscouts.com
