LANSING, MI - On July 19, Governor Whitmer and her cabinet kicked off their MI Small Business Summer tour, in recognition of small businesses that have remained prominent during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tour comes following other initiatives in support of small businesses in the previous month, including a virtual small business summit, as well as an in-person Detroit small business summit.

Most recently, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist visited GRNoir & Jazz in Grand Rapids, concluding the regional Small Business summit for the Grand Rapids region, the second of four stops statewide until August 9.

The summits are hosted by the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) as investment in small businesses has become a priority to the Governor’s administration:

“As we put Michiganders back to work, it remains imperative that we stand tall for small businesses across Michigan by continuing to provide the supports needed to help them recover from COVID-19 and boost our economic jumpstart throughout the state,” Lt. Governor Gilchrist said in a statement from a press release about the tour.

Governor Whitmer and her administration have put forward a number of initiatives for small businesses, including the Michigan Small Business Restart Program, investing $100 million to help restaurants and other small businesses by providing grants up to $20,000 for mortgage, rent and other operating expenses.

Since March of last year, the MEDC has launched 23 economic relief programs totaling over $240 million to small businesses across all 83 Michigan counties, supporting more than 25,000 companies and retaining over 200,000 jobs.