The National Entrepreneur Center is pleased to share that we have earned the 2023 InBIA Entrepreneur Support Organization of the Year Award (Mixed-Use) well as the Dinah Adkins Award (Non-Technology) at the 37th International Conference on Business Incubation (ICBI37), held in Detroit, Michigan. InBIA is a leading economic development agency bringing together entrepreneur support professionals from all over the globe to connect, explore new strategies, share best practices, and learn about current small business market trends at their annual conference. “We are over the moon to have earned these prestigious awards, especially as we are celebrating our 20^th anniversary. The NEC’s comprehensive 'one-stop-shop' business model is often called a 'unicorn' by nationally recognized economic development leaders and this award acknowledges that globally,” said Belinda Kirkegard, current President of the National Entrepreneur Center. “We specifically want to thank the Central Florida community leaders and all our investors for making entrepreneurship a priority, and working with us to ensure resources are in place to support the backbone of our economy,” said Julie Matthews, the NEC’s COO, who was in Detroit to accept the award.  In a impact study performed by Angelou Economics in 2022, the NEC showed that for every $1 invested in the NEC since its inception, almost $12 is returned in economic impact to the community.  This tremendous community value was another reason why the NEC was ultimately selected as the winner of the awards.“This is another recognition of the power of a public/private partnership,” said Jerry Ross, the NEC’s immediate past president for the last 16 years.  “We’ve been doing this for a long time as a community, and it’s nice to have others recognize it.”