The Initiative shall create a curated list of companies in the State that are between the start–up and scaling phases. Priority shall be given to companies that are: current or prior recipients of funding from the Maryland Innovation Initiative; current or prior recipients of funding from any other program administered by the Corporation; minority business enterprises described in § 9–4119(a) of the State Government Article; and located in a high–need or economically distressed geographic area of the State as determined by the Corporation.