UCF Hub Named 2026 National Small Business Development Center of the Year

UCF continues to prove it powers economic prosperity across Florida by supporting small businesses that drive impact across sectors nationally.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) selected the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF (FSBDC at UCF) as the National Small Business Development Center of the Year - recognizing its outstanding performance, innovative programming, and leadership in supporting Central Florida's entrepreneurs and small businesses. The UCF center was selected from a pool of 1,000 applicants nationwide.

"This award reflects our consistent ability to exceed SBA milestones and outperform our own high expectations within the Florida SBDC Network." - Eunice Choi, regional director of the FSBDC at UCF

"We are humbled yet immensely gratified to be honored as the SBDC of the Year by the SBA," says Eunice Choi, regional director of the FSBDC at UCF. "Our team takes great pride in its unwavering commitment to serving the small business community and advancing SBA's mission. This award reflects our consistent ability to exceed SBA milestones and outperform our own high expectations within the Florida SBDC Network."

The FSBDC at UCF is located in the National Entrepreneur Center inside the Orlando Fashion Square Mall near downtown. It serves serves eight counties including Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia. At the Orlando main office, as well as six service center offices, small business owners have access to seminars and no-cost one-on-one consulting with experts who can assist across the following areas:

• Accounting: asset management, record keeping systems and procedures
• Finance: ratio analysis, breakeven analysis, financial projections and business valuation
• Marketing: pricing, advertising and promotion, marketing planning, market research and exporting
• Operations: production and inventory control, project management, risk management and energy conservation
• New Venture Planning: start-up information, feasibility analysis, business planning and general business consulting
• Technical Assistance: preliminary patent searches, patent, copyright and trademark, and technology transfer and SBIR/STTR

Each year, the SBA celebrates National Small Business Week (May 3-9 this year) by recognizing exceptional small business owners, entrepreneurs and resource partners from across the country. This year's winners have been invited to Washington, D.C., May 3-4, where they will be honored during national ceremonies.

"This year's NSBW celebration is particularly historic as our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, when our Founding Fathers laid the groundwork for the liberty that powers the engine of free enterprise. The result is our nation's prosperity and entrepreneurial spirit - the very spirit your leadership exemplifies," SBA Administrator Kelley Loeffler stated in a letter congratulating to the FSBDC at UCF.

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