The University of St. Thomas recently took over management of the Cleantech Open Midwest startup accelerator, a company devoted to helping create sustainable businesses in the Midwest.

Cleantech was created six years ago by business innovation strategist Justin Kaster in an effort to foster companies that produce clean technologies. The accelerator hand-picks its startups, supports them from day one and helps them create a sustainable business model.

During the summer of 2015, St. Thomas’ Schulze School of Entrepreneurship took over management of this accelerator to strengthen both the green nature of campus and the portfolio of the Schulze School.

“The Cleantech Open is a well-run organization that has successfully helped early-stage companies build their businesses,” Dr. Brian Abraham, the associate dean of the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship, said. “It’s doing good things with a business model that’s proven successful.”

Cleantech is also a high-profile organization, which Abraham believes will help students reach a national stage in their entrepreneurial efforts.

“Accelerators offer very formalized programming to bring the young startups from where they are to a level of maturity. A lot of training and mentoring,” Abraham said. “I hope that as a result we will have a lot more students engaging in entrepreneurial activities.”

Not every student who wants to participate in Cleantech will get a spot. Cleantech limits its support to startups with a scalable business model and room for future growth. Furthermore, Cleantech offers formalized programming to help businesses grow, something many incubators don’t.

“Cleantech is an accelerator, not an incubator,” Abraham said. “While incubators are limited to physical spaces, an accelerator can offer a physical space, as well as formalized planning for sustainability and growth.”

Sue Marshall, a 2014 St. Thomas graduate school alumna , is the founder and CEO of NetZro, a company that devotes itself to recovering food waste to re-harvest nutrients and use human waste as fertilizer. NetZro is one of several companies involved with this year’s Cleantech Open Midwest.

“Most people believe that making money has to be independent from solving environmental and other societal challenges,” Marshall said. “I believe the opposite to be true. Our future requires sustainable thinking.”

Participation in Cleantech Open Midwest is not limited to St. Thomas students, something that makes this program unique.

“We have teams from Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Nebraska, Illinois, all over,” Abraham said. “…but it just so happens that one alum is in the Cleantech accelerator, and I suspect pretty much every year we’ll have one or two.”

Whitney Oachs can be reached at oach5325@stthomas.edu.