Hard hit by manufacturing job losses over the years, Barberton is putting out a big welcome mat to emerging businesses, creating a $500,000 fund to entice entrepreneurs.Early stage companies — those considered to have high potential to raise additional money from public and private sources — can tap the fund for loans up to $50,000, organizers say.The companies must be headquartered in Barberton or agree to move there.Barberton Mayor Bob Genet said lack of highway access and limited land on which to build work against attracting businesses to town.With the new fund, he said, “new companies with growth potential would be hard-pressed not to look at this opportunity.” Genet is running for re-election and is being challenged by At-Large Democratic Councilman William B. Judge in the Sept. 13 primary.Skeptics might wonder whether the loans will be enough to make a difference for a new enterprise.John Dearborn, president of JumpStart Inc., a regional nonprofit group helping to oversee the fund, says they will be.“I started my own business with $15,000,” he said of a software company he later sold.“The loans are an important piece of motivation.” And, he said, they aren’t so large “that you have to sign your life away” to get them.JumpStart will evaluate the business plans of applicants and offer other support. The organization invests in early- stage companies throughout Northeast Ohio.Entrepreneurs and others interested in learning about the Barberton program can attend an informational session Thursday evening. (See accompanying story for more information.)Barberton is the third city in the Akron-Canton area to work with JumpStart to launch such a program targeting entrepreneurs, following the Wooster and Canton.The Barberton effort — dubbed the Barberton Growth Fund — is being created with $500,000 from the Barberton Community Foundation, said Scott Wagner, executive director of the Barberton Community Development Corp., the nonprofit group in the city that is helping to organize the fund.This money was moved from another fund — one that businesses could use to obtain lower interest rates on loans. With current interest rates so low, businesses hadn’t been turning to this fund much.Wagner said the entrepreneur fund is expected to generate prospects.“It’s very difficult for companies to find seed funding and get to a point where they can raise further capital,”he said.Companies also “will have the experts at JumpStart working with them to help them further develop their product,” he said.Wagner’s group — which serves as Barberton’s economic development agency — also is involved in the purchase of the old Seiberling Tire & Rubber Co. facility on 15th Street Northwest for redevelopment.Wagner and Genet noted that entrepreneurs could set up shop in the sprawling facility. The 27-acre property boasts roughly 400,000 square feet, including office and warehouse/manufacturing areas.The Barberton Community Development Corp. plans to buy the property from privately owned B&C Industries for $700,000.In Wayne County, Wooster leaders launched the area’s first entrepreneur fund last year.The nonprofit Wooster Growth Corp. and the Wooster Community Hospital Foundation each donated $100,000 for the Wooster Opportunities Fund; the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce contributed $20,000. So far, two tiny Wooster companies are receiving a total of $63,000 in loans.One recipient is three-employee Manuscript Tracker, an online system designed to speed up the peer-review evaluation of scholarly articles.Manuscript Tracker President Brian Boyer said the money was used to hire a sales representative to “get us going.” “We had a product, but we really had limited capacity to reach a mass market,” he said.The new employee has already lined up new customers, Boyer said.The other Wooster startup getting a loan is JNP Group LLC, which engineers and makes acoustic products for the construction industry.In Canton, the city is using $100,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant money for what is called the Canton Entrepreneur Launch.Entrepreneur Launch began accepting applications last month. It will give out grants — not loans — to promising startups.Applications for the Canton fund’s first round of funding are due Sept. 30; Canton Entrepreneur Launch will award $100,000 during the first round.Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.