The stay-at-home order in Kansas last month didn’t mean startup dollars had to stay in the house as well.

Despite a global pandemic, Wichita-based Accelerate Venture Partners closed nearly as many deals in March as it did in all of 2019 — throwing its support behind two of the Kansas City area’s rising startups.

A recently rebranded Wichita accelerator hopes to land new connections between startup founders and investors with a new pilot competition and expanded efforts to build the region’s ecosystem.

The entrepreneurial-focused e2e Accelerator is rebranding as NXTUS and launching a new pilot competition designed to connect big ideas to Wichita companies that can use them to fuel their futures.