Bamberg County Project Among 14 Recipients of $760,000 State Grants

Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III said a Bamberg County project is one of 14 statewide recipients of Relentless Challenge grants, part of a funding pool the department announced on March 3, 2026 that totals more than $760,000. The South Carolina Department of Commerce press release says the 2026 awards support two complementary tracks - traditional small business and innovation - and that the recipient projects are due to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

“South Carolina’s economic strength is built on both the small businesses that sustain our communities and the innovators shaping our future,” Lightsey said in the Commerce statement. “Through the Relentless Challenge and these 14 projects, we are investing in entrepreneurs and companies whose ideas will drive growth, advance innovation and create opportunity across our state.”

The Commerce release frames the Relentless Challenge as a statewide competitive grant program aligned with the agency’s Launch to Legacy brand, intended to back businesses “at every stage” and position South Carolina as a destination for American innovation. Third-party summaries of the program emphasize priority areas the grants are meant to address, including high-growth/high-impact entrepreneurship, talent development, access to capital, and university/industry collaborations that could lead to commercialization.

Local color in the initial coverage includes Lowcountry Local First, which confirmed selection as a 2026 Relentless Challenge recipient and said it will use the award to strengthen and expand its Invest Local Initiative. Lowcountry Local First lists its Charleston address at 1859 Summerville Avenue, Ste 800, and phone 843.801.3390 on its announcement page. The Upstate Business Journal reports that three Upstate organizations are among the 14 recipients, though the Upstate outlet’s excerpt did not include the names of those projects.

Key program details remain to be confirmed for Bamberg County and other local recipients. The Commerce release states “the 14 recipient projects are listed below,” but the full recipient list and the per-project award amounts were not included in the excerpts provided to this reporter. A separate summary on FundingTrail describes a planned 2026 award pool of approximately $1,000,000 and notes grant caps and matching funds up to $75,000, a figure that differs from Commerce’s announced total; Commerce’s announced figure of more than $760,000 should be treated as the authoritative awarded total unless the department provides additional clarification.

S.C. Commerce gives the official address for its press office as 1201 Main Street, Suite 1600, Columbia, SC 29201. The department’s stated timetable places grant-funded projects starting in Q1 2026; additional project-level details, per-award amounts and recipient names are expected to appear when Commerce supplies the complete list the press release referenced.