Four freshwater technology startups, including one from Madison, have been selected to participate in a Global Freshwater Seed Accelerator Program, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation announced this week.

Microbe Detectives, along with Vegetal i.D. (France), H2O Score (Milwaukee) and Noah Technologies (Port Washington, Wis.), will each receive a $50,000 grant from WEDC, have access to business model and operations training and receive mentorship from local water technology experts.

“This collaboration brings these companies with important water technology advances in the world to further develop their innovation here in Wisconsin,” Reed Hall, secretary and CEO of WEDC, said in a statement. “This collaborative investment will further demonstrate Milwaukee and Wisconsin’s reputation as a global center of excellence for water-related research and innovation development.”

The program, hosted at the Global Water Center in Milwaukee, begins Sept. 2 and lasts six months.

According to a release, Microbe Detectives uses cutting-edge technology and comprehensive genetic databases to identify and quantify nearly all bacteria in microbial communities, including water.