| State economic development agency | Texas Economic Development & Tourism (within the Governor's Office) |
| 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 |
Texas Economic Development & Tourism (EDT), within the Office of the Governor, is the state's lead economic-development coordinating function. Major programs include the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) (the lead "deal-closing" fund), the Skills Development Fund (customized workforce training through TX community/technical colleges), the Self-Sufficiency Fund, the Spaceport Trust Fund, and the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund.
Primary site: Texas Economic Development & Tourism (within the Governor's Office)
TEF is Texas's lead deal-closing performance grant for major projects. Awards conditional on meeting job-creation, capital-investment, and wage milestones. Used when TX is in active competitive site-selection against other states.
State customized workforce-training grant awarded to TX community/technical colleges partnering with employers. Funds curriculum development and training delivery for net new or incumbent workers.
Established 2023 to attract semiconductor manufacturing and R&D investment to TX. Matching grants for projects aligned with the federal CHIPS Act ecosystem.
Texas operates the HUB program as its primary state-level small-business set-aside framework.
Texas HUB program certifies businesses owned and controlled by minorities, women, or service-disabled veterans, with state-agency procurement goals tied to HUB participation. Certification is free; renewal every two years.
Texas 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.
Texas state-administered grant programs typically use program-specific application portals on individual agency sites rather than a single statewide grants portal. Federal pass-through funds (HUD CDBG, EDA, USDA Rural Development) route through Grants.gov for the federal half, then through the state sub-recipient process. Always confirm the application URL on the agency page for the specific program before drafting.
Federal grants reach businesses in Texas through several pass-through channels: HUD CDBG-State dollars administered by Texas Economic Development & Tourism (within the Governor's Office) 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: Texas Economic Development & Tourism (within the Governor's Office) (CDBG-state administrator)
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.
Texas'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 Texas programs and their eligibility thresholds.
No. Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas's state agency (Texas Economic Development & Tourism (within the Governor's Office) (CDBG-state administrator)), 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.
Texas uses Grants.gov + 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.