The Milwaukee 7 economic development partnership has awarded its second round of funding from the Capital Catalyst venture capital fund.

The 2018 model of the Motivo Tour walker.

The $1 million venture fund was started with a $500,000 grant from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and $500,000 from the Milwaukee Economic Development Corp. It provides loans and grants totaling $50,000 to $125,000 to early stage companies, to be used for tasks like product development, market validation, new equipment, marketing and sales assistance. The fund is targeted to advanced manufacturing and technology companies.

MEDC, which administers the fund, said it approved $453,333 in loans and $76,666 in grants to four Milwaukee-area startups in the fourth quarter of 2018: Motivo Inc., La Pavia Beverage LLC, Vivid Microscopy LLC and MRH Products Inc. Read the full story here.