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, Inc. Located at 3201 East Colonial Drive, within Orlando Fashion Square, the NEC houses thirteen  (13) 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:

                 Accion East

    African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida

                Asian American Chamber of Commerce

                Central Florida Disability Chamber of Commerce

                Central Florida International Trade Office              

                Florida Small Business Development Center @UCF

                Florida State Minority Supplier Diversity Council

                Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando

                SCORE Orlando

                UCF Business Incubation Program

               Hispanic Business Initiative Fund (HBIF)

               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 15/16, the Resource Partners of the NEC have counseled and trained more than 15,000 Central Florida business people, conducted over 400 business seminars and grew loans facilitated from $2.5 million to $7.1 million.  

The National Entrepreneur Center is committed to leveraging the City's 2016/2017 financial support of $150,000 through their Resource Provider organizations located at the center to achieve maximum impact and continued success for small businesses in Orlando, support the activities of the Central Florida International Trade Office, create a Fall 2016 event for small businesses as well as conduct its annual “SmallBiz 360” Spring 2017 event and complete an internal expansion to accommodate growth of current Resource Providers. 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 in the amount of $220,000 from Orange County.