| State economic development agency | California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) |
| State SBIR/STTR phase-zero match | No statewide match |
| Formal small-business set-aside program | Yes (DBE/MBE/WBE/VOSB) |
| Signature grant programs cataloged | 3 programs |
The California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as California's lead point of contact for economic development and job creation. GO-Biz administers the California Competes Tax Credit (CalCompetes), the CalCompetes Grant, the California Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, and serves as the operator for the Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA). The IBank (California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank) provides direct lending for larger projects.
Primary site: California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)
Negotiated state income-tax credit for businesses creating jobs and making capital investments in California. Application cycles open three times per fiscal year. Small-business set-aside of 25% of total allocation per cycle.
Cash-grant companion to the CalCompetes tax credit, targeting companies that cannot utilize the non-refundable credit. Same application cycle as the tax-credit program. Highly competitive.
Microgrant program targeting new microbusinesses (typically 1-5 employees) that complete a state-affiliated entrepreneurship training program. Operated through California's Small Business Technical Assistance Expansion Program network.
California operates a robust state-level small-business and disabled-veteran business enterprise (SB/DVBE) certification and set-aside program through the Department of General Services, alongside the federal DBE program for transportation contracts.
California operates dual SB (Small Business) and DVBE (Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise) certification programs through DGS. State agencies must meet 25% SB and 3% DVBE participation goals on state contracts. Certification is free and renews every two years.
Federal DBE certification for businesses bidding on federally funded transportation projects in California. Required for prime and subcontractor participation on Caltrans federal-aid projects.
California does not currently operate a statewide SBIR/STTR Phase 0 or Phase I match program. Eligible small businesses still apply directly to federal SBIR/STTR through the participating federal agencies (DoD, NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA, etc.) via SBIR.gov.
California uses Cal eProcure for state contracting and small-business certification, but grant programs use program-specific application portals on agency sites (CalCompetes via business.ca.gov, CalOSBA grants via calosba.ca.gov). Federal pass-through grants administered through state agencies route through Grants.gov for the federal half.
Federal grants reach businesses in California through several pass-through channels: HUD CDBG-State dollars administered by California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that sub-grant to localities for economic development; EDA public-works and economic-adjustment grants flowing through regional EDA offices; USDA Rural Development Business and Industry loan guarantees and Rural Business Development Grants for rural-county operations; and SBA programs (7(a), 504, Microloan, CDFI) accessed via local lenders. Business eligibility for each channel depends on entity size, location (rural vs urban), and use-of-funds.
CDBG state administrator: California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)
EDA regional contact: US EDA regional office
State programs cover one half of the picture. Federal grants flow through 26 federal agencies via Grants.gov; the eligibility floor often overlaps with state programs. Use the GrantProbe Grant Finder to filter federal grants by entity type, sector, and award size, and read our federal grants for startups primer for the framework behind every match.
California's economic development agency administers several grant and incentive programs for businesses, but most flagship programs require either an existing operation, a defined hiring commitment, or capital investment milestones. Pure pre-revenue startups should usually pair federal SBIR/STTR (where R&D-eligible) with state innovation match programs (if available) and CDFI lending. See the signature programs section above for the named California programs and their eligibility thresholds.
No. California does not currently operate a statewide SBIR/STTR Phase 0 or Phase I match program. Eligible small businesses apply directly to federal SBIR/STTR through participating agencies at SBIR.gov. Some California regional or university-based innovation programs may provide application support; check the state economic development agency for current partnerships.
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program flows from HUD to California's state agency (California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)), which sub-grants to localities. Businesses do not apply directly to the state for CDBG dollars; they apply to participating cities or counties for economic development sub-awards (job creation, blight remediation, low-to-moderate-income workforce). Contact your local economic development office for current sub-awards.
California uses Cal eProcure + program-specific portals. See the application portal section above for the portal URL and pattern. Most state-administered programs require pre-registration with a state vendor identification number before an application can be submitted.