The Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute is working on a program that would help fledgling companies fill orders larger than they have the cash flow to handle, enabling them to grow.


Patrick Tam, SIRTIs executive director, announced at the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerces Business Connections Breakfast last week that SIRTI is close to developing a technology-growth fund, where we finance purchase orders to help companies fill orders.


Tam told the audience the program would help young and growing businesses that often must turn away large orders for their products because they dont have the manpower or the resources to fill the requests.


Its a good problem for companies to have, he said.


Asked later about the envisioned program, Tam declined to elaborate on how the fund would work or who could tap into it.


Its very preliminary at this stage, he said. What we recognize is that theres a need for this type of funding, so we hope to put something together to fulfill that need.


Tam said that money hasnt been raised or earmarked yet for the fund, and SIRTI doesnt know yet from where the funds would come.


Tam said SIRTI also hasnt determined which companies could apply for the loans, identifying the potential recipients only as businesses that have needs to finance short-term working capital.