The National Entrepreneur Center (NEC) was created in 2003 through the co-sponsorships of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Orange County Government, Walt Disney Company and the University of Central Florida Foundation. Located at 3201 East Colonial Drive, within Orlando Fashion Square, the NEC houses twelve (12 ) service providers/support organizations whose roles are to assist in accelerating local community diversification and high-value job growth, ensure business growth and employment, attract and create new types of companies, and help our citizens prepare for better paying jobs. In addition to the synergy of co-locating service providers, this cooperative approach reduces duplication, while providing clients with the efficiency of a one-stop center for business support and enables each service organization to reduce expenses by sharing the common facilities and resources. The Resource Partners and on-site community partners at the center include:

                 African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida

                 Asian American Chamber of Commerce

                 UCF Small Business Development Center

                 British-American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida

                 Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando

                SCORE Orlando

                UCF Business Incubation Program

                Hispanic Business Initiative Fund (HBIF)

               Central Florida Disability Chamber of Commerce

               U.S. Department of Commerce – Export Assistance Center

               National Association of Women Business Owners - Orlando (NAWBO)

National Black MBA Association Central Florida

To date in FY 13/14, the Resource Partners of the NEC have counseled and trained more than 13,000 Central Florida business people and have helped facilitate more than 25 loans for over $2.4 million, in addition to over $100,000 in alternative capital.  

The National Entrepreneur Center is committed to promoting the City's Blueprint for the Community Venues project, and leveraging the City's 2014/2015 financial support of $100,000 through their Resource Provider organizations located at the center to achieve maximum impact and continued success for small businesses in Orlando. The Center has been involved in assisting the UCF Business Incubator-Orlando and also serves on the advisory board for the Minority/Women Entrepreneur Business Assistance (MEBA) program.

The National Entrepreneur Center will receive additional funding support ranging from $220,000 to $600,000 from Orange County and the State of Florida this fiscal year.