David Sanders

David Sanders is the Director of Innovate Arkansas at Winrock International and the Validation Fund at Winrock International.  Innovate Arkansas is a catalyst, connector, and convener of entrepreneurs and industry leaders to help the Arkansas economy grow smarter and faster through innovation, acceleration, and deep incubation. Sanders and the team of business and industry advisors deliver high-impact, demand-based services and programs targeting scalable, knowledge-based ventures.

The Validation Fund is Arkansas’ first evergreen, not-for-profit fund dedicated to deploying early-stage awards to validation-stage Arkansas startup companies.  Its purpose is to aid in creating jobs and economic prosperity for Arkansas by providing needed early-stage capital to promising companies.  Launched in late 2020, The Validation Fund invested in five companies in the first year.