Why Minnesota

Wealth of Resources

Minnesota is an all-around competitive business location with access to a spectrum of resources.

• Minnesota’s financial resources play a vital role in ensuring business growth and economic development
• Technical businesses resources are available to new and existing businesses
• Rural Minnesota is blessed with fertile land and mineral resources
  

Minnesota’s financial resources play a vital role in ensuring business growth and economic development

• Minnesota businesses benefit from wide variety of capital sources including loans, stock offerings and venture capital. In addition, a variety of federal, state and local programs are available to support business financing.
   
• In 2006, Minnesota companies issued $266 million in IPO, ranking 29th nationwide, according to Thomson Financial.
   
• In 2006, Minnesota firms received 36 deals totaling $322 million in venture capital investments, ranking 14th nationwide and second in the Midwest.
   

• Minnesota surpassed all other Midwest states in venture capital investments per capita ($62 per capita) in 2006, ranking 13th nationwide.
   
• Minnesota medical devices and equipment industries received nearly $185 million in venture capital investments in 2006, the fourth highest amount in the country.
   

• Minnesota’s venture capital backed companies employed 302,000 people in 2005, ranking 10th nationwide, according to a 2007 report by the National Venture Capital Association. These companies had revenues of $65.0 billion, the 11th highest among states.
   
• The Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a full range of loans (up to $1 million) to start and expand small businesses. In fiscal year 2006, the SBA Minneapolis District Office ranked 14th in the nation with $466 million in approved loans. Minnesota ranked seventh in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans per capita ($90).
   
• DEED offers a variety of financial assistance programs to support business financing, such as the Enterprise Zone Program, Minnesota Investment Fund and Minnesota Job Skills Partnership. DEED also offers tax incentives through Minnesota’s Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ) and Bioscience Zones.
   
• RAIN Source Capital builds local capacity to make angel equity investments a reality by organizing RAIN funds in communities throughout Minnesota. RAIN funds are a series of formal investment funds that pool intellectual and financial resources to provide seed and growth equity capital for emerging companies in their communities.

Technical businesses resources are available to new and existing businesses

• Business incubators encompass a variety of methods that are used in economic development to nurture new, small businesses and are key to business start-ups’ success. Incubators offer shared equipment (e.g. telephone answering system) and services (e.g. Internet access, marketing assistance) to help businesses cut costs; experienced management advice and access to professional expertise; and access to capital.
   
• University Enterprise Laboratories, Inc., located in the heart of the Saint Paul Bioscience Zone, is a new business incubator that opened in 2005 with $24 million in financing. Covering 125,000 square feet, UEL is a collaborative research center that currently leases lab and office space, as well as equipment, to 13 early-stage bioscience companies.
   
• Local Chambers of Commerce, as well as industry associations, offer a wealth of information on business resources, events and other networking and training opportunities.
   
• The University of Minnesota works with the business community to attract and retain quality people, expand knowledge, and enhance research and innovation through the University's Academic and Corporate Relations Center.

Rural Minnesota is blessed with fertile land and mineral resources

• Minnesota’s 79,800 farms (2004) covered 27.6 million acres of farmland (2004) and received $9.2 billion from agricultural sales (2003), according to the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
   
• In 2005, Minnesota was among the top producers of agricultural goods. Among all states, Minnesota was:
   

• The sixth largest producer of crops, the eighth largest producer of livestock and related products, and fifth overall agricultural goods.
   
• The nation's largest producer of sugar beets, sweet corn and green peas for processing and farm-raised turkeys.
   
• The second largest producer of spring wheat, canola, and cultivated wild rice.
   
• One of the top five producers of corn, soybeans, oats, dry edible beans, cheese, honey, flaxseed, mink pelts produced, hogs, pig crop and hogs marketed.
   
• In 2006, Minnesota produced nearly 75 percent of iron ore in the country (2.9 million metric tons) with an estimated value of $2.0 billion.
   
• Minnesota’s six mining operation plants employ nearly 4,000 people and represent a combined investment of $4 billion. These companies contribute over $1.5 billion each year to Minnesota’s economy in wages and benefits, royalties and taxes.
   
• United Taconite – a joint venture of Laiwu Steel Group of China and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. based in Ohio – reopened the operations of the former Eveleth Mines LLC, or EVTAC in northeastern Minnesota in 2004.
   
• Mesabi Nugget –four miles north of Aurora, Minnesota– uses the ITmk3 method to produce high quality iron nuggets that contain essentially pure iron and carbon.