Roughly $800,000 in grants is available for Rhode Island researchers studying the effects of climate change on marine life. more

The U.S. Small Business Administration is teaming up with AARP and the Center for Women & Enterprise to host the Rhode Island Encore Entrepreneur Mentor Day on Tuesday, Oct. 2. more

Maternova Inc., a startup founded by Meg Wirth to help maternal health products get into the developing world more quickly and easily, won the grand prize in the LivePlan $10,000 Boost nationwide business plan competition. more

A sold-out crowd of more than 400 from eight countries filed into the auditorium at Providence’s Trinity Repertory Company on Wednesday for the first day of the Business Innovation Factory’s BIF-8 summit. more

Last week, PBN held its inaugural Fastest-Growing & Innovative Companies event, celebrating the achievements of 24 enterprises in the region. And based on the profiles included in this week’s special section, the key to their successes was investment. more

The Slater Technology Fund has committed $250,000 in new funding to VCharge, an energy management services company, Slater announced Monday. more

In an old, industrial neighborhood in Providence, Cooper-Lewis Inc. has withstood the tests of time and change. A distributor of products for the automotive, marine and industrial repair and refinishing trades, Cooper-Lewis has been at the same location for 49 years and has been in business since 1947. Owner Mark H. Freedman believes the expertise that comes with that longevity sets his company above the rest. more

In an age of digital discovery and social media, here’s something that more and more local businesses are learning: Existing customers can be one of the most powerful growth engines ever. One way to put this engine to work is to identify and harness the hidden marketing potential in your “rock star” customers. more

The design team with San Francisco-based organization A Human Right was selected as the winner of the 2012 A Better World by Design challenge “Connecting the Disconnected,” Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee, the R.I. Economic Development Corp. and Broadband Rhode Island announced Monday. more

Rhode Island ranks 19th among states for entrepreneurship, according to an index released Oct. 2 by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. more