TEDCO Selects 25 for 2026 BRIDGE Lab to Aid Mid-Atlantic SEDI Businesses

TEDCO has selected 25 companies for the 2026 BRIDGE Proposal Lab, a no‑cost, cohort-based accelerator aimed at Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individuals (SEDI)-owned firms and very small businesses with fewer than 10 employees to improve their chances of winning federal funding. TEDCO’s announcement highlights that each selected company will receive at least $45,000 in support services and licenses and participate in 310 hours of business development and proposal training.

The TEDCO press release dated Feb. 25, 2026 and released from Columbia, Md., lists selected cohort members; the excerpt provided includes RoundHaus, LLC; Strogen Strategic Sustainability, LLC; UrbanEdge Educational and Safety Consulting Firm; Acarin; Advantech GS Enterprises, Inc.; Antean Technology; Arplans; BME Ventures; Technik Kids; and TPJ Solutions. The press release states the cohort contains 25 companies in the Mid‑Atlantic region, though the supplied excerpt names only items 1–8 and 24–25.

The BRIDGE Proposal Lab is offered through Maryland TEDCO under contract with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and delivered by OST Global Solutions, which says participants will gain access to OST’s WinMoreBD.ai generative AI platform, AI-driven tools, live pursuit workshops, tailored coaching, a robust alumni network, and a U.S. Department of Labor‑certified Apprenticeship component. OST’s program materials call the lab “a comprehensive training and hands-on program” and state, “Each participant will receive at least $45,000 worth of support services and licenses in value.”

Kim Mozingo, vice president, Federal Programs at TEDCO, said in the release, “By offering training and access to collaborative networks, we are looking to open new avenues for small businesses. The Proposal Lab was built to help companies establish the needed rhythm for a better chance of success when applying for federal funding.” April Davis-Hurtt, lead BRIDGE advisor at TEDCO, added, “The BRIDGE Proposal Lab continues to garner interest from across the region. After a competitive group of applications, we are excited to support another group of companies in their journey to grow.”

OST Global Solutions lists two cohort timelines in its program materials: Cohort 1 ran from a Nov. 3, 2025 start through Sept. 1, 2026 with a Sept. 19, 2025 application deadline; Cohort 2 is listed as starting Feb. 5, 2026 and ending Jan. 3, 2027 with a Jan. 30, 2026 application deadline. The source materials show TEDCO’s Feb. 25, 2026 announcement after OST’s listed Feb. 5, 2026 Cohort 2 start date; the documents do not explain the sequence.

Maryland General Assembly BRIDGE program descriptions place the Proposal Lab in a broader set of supports that include one-on-one advising, financial literacy and credit repair, CDFI technical assistance, Back-Office-in-a-Box, Women’s ACE, and SBIR/STTR supports. Mgaleg materials spell out SBIR/STTR matching caps: Phase I matching equals the lesser of 25 percent of the Phase I award or $25,000, and Phase II matching equals the lesser of 25 percent of the Phase II award or $75,000, and state that BRIDGE has “more than doubled the national Phase I award rate.”

TEDCO and OST have set the 2026 cohort in motion with a mix of AI tools, apprenticeship instruction, and hands-on proposal coaching; the press materials do not provide a complete public roster of all 25 companies, the program’s contract value, or independent performance metrics for prior cohorts, details that will need confirmation in follow-up reporting.