Training

Provide small business loans and financial training to start-ups and existing businesses along with lending services to community-based organizations.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered millions of loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses.

Thorough resource for the early stages of starting a business in NC. BLNC provides checklists and links to statewide services for entrepreneurs including help writing business plans, licensing, help determining business structures, financing options and taxes, among others.

Entrepreneurs are North Carolina’s economic engine. If you’re thinking about starting a business in North Carolina, we salute you! We’re here to help you navigate the state requirements. Find all the information you need to get your startup started.

Business Link North Carolina (BLNC) is a free resource for anyone seeking to start a small business in the state. We offer one-on-one phone consultations to hundreds of individuals interested in establishing a business start-up, small business owners in need of general support, and small-business entrepreneurs interested in moving to North Carolina. Our team of business counselors offers straightforward, easy-to-understand guidance in both English and Spanish on topics including regulatory requirements, licensing stipulations, small-business training and more.

Our mission is to develop, promote and implement sound economic strategies to improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians. We serve the state’s 80 rural counties, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.

The state of North Carolina is home to more than 800,000 small businesses and Commerce is strongly committed to their success. Commerce serves as a one-stop resource for small businesses and start-up companies with big ideas. Many partners and allies support Commerce’s work in assisting North Carolina’s small businesses, but Commerce provides a centralized point of contact to assist them. Services include planning and feasibility assessment, licensing, individualized research-based products around change management, strategic performance and leadership development; help accessing and acquiring government contracts; and assistance in commercializing new technologies and accessing innovation research. Through marketing and outreach activities, Commerce reaches small business owners and those considering a start-up to offer services and support designed to ensure these businesses are afforded the best opportunity to Thrive in North Carolina.

The Institute is a nonprofit management consulting and services firm focused on business diversity. We are trusted advisors to businesses large and small, government agencies, policymakers and organizations that understand the key role diversity plays in ensuring business and economic success.Our client services include customized one-on-one assistance, training, knowledge, networks and solutions that create diverse, globally competitive companies.We are a leading voice and constant advocate for public policies and business practices that promote marketplace diversity.

Established in 2012, SpringBoardNC was created to foster and support entrepreneurship in the I-95 / Hwy 64 Region of Eastern North Carolina, by serving as a resource hub to individuals looking to start or grow their business

The Minority and Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) Program is a joint venture launched by the City of Greenville and Greenville Utilities (the City’s public utilities) to provide minority and women-owned firms an equal opportunity to do business with the City and GUC. The MWBE program offers one-on-one mentoring to coach firms on how to best position themselves for success in government contracting. The MWBE Program also provides training opportunities on a variety of topics, including “How to Submit Responsive Bids,” “Certification Made Easy,” and “Understanding Local Preference.” In the Fall and Spring, the MWBE Program hosts events to directly connect firms with government purchasers and to provide marketing and promotion of MWBE firms to the larger Greenville community. Visit our website to search our directory of local, state, and federal government opportunities.

Mark Phillips is responsible for directing and promoting biotechnology-related growth and development activities for the Biotechnology Center’s Eastern Office in Greenville. Phillips serves as the regions’ contact to the Biotechnology Center’s grant and loan funding programs, while working with companies, schools and institutions throughout a 27-county region to strengthen biotechnology research, business, education and workforce training, and to identify new opportunities for commercial biotechnology

NCBC connects the company and university researchers; the funders and the small companies; the job seekers and job providers. We provide funding when few others do. We keep an eye on emerging biotech sectors. And we make sure North Carolina leads the way.

The Middle School Innovators Academy, the Innovators Design Academy, and the Global Innovation Workshop demonstrate the culture of innovation that ECU is creating on campus and in the community. Through these academies, ECU teaches participants, particularly the younger students, that it values innovation, creative thinking and risk-taking and realizes the integral role of design in successful innovation for economic growth.

The Innovation Design Lab (IDL) is a collaborative venue for leading edge research and design-driven innovation. A best-in-class facility, the IDL was one of three national finalists in the category of Community Connected Campus Awards of Excellence by the University Economic Development Association.

Community and Regional Development (CRD) takes an innovative approach to program development that focuses on building a comprehensive menu of products and services that fosters strong regional partnerships around community and economic development priorities and projects. CRD programs include the Municipal Management and Innovation initiative, the Talent Enhancement and Capacity Building program and the Rural Community Consortium.

ECU’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development (OIED) delivers and supports regional transformation by fostering community enhancement & regional development, a regional innovation workforce, cluster-based economic development, and the proliferation of innovation, entrepreneurship and small business.