The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has announced the expanded development of its Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to support students at historically Black colleges and universities and other institutions to pursue and fulfill their entrepreneurial dreams.
The center’s objectives are to build, grow, support, and nurture partner ventures through a multi-prong approach of education, development, mentoring, and financial support through scholarships, grants, and business funding for innovators and entrepreneurs.
The goals of the center are to:
• Build a dynamic community of entrepreneurs and innovators
• Administer business and social entrepreneurship and innovation-focused scholarship programs
• Promote access to fellowships and internships
• Define HBCU ecosystem to identify, inform and align partners for collaborative capacity building
• Expand online community engagement through community-oriented activities and events
• Train intrapreneurs, company managers who promote innovation, and develop curriculum
• Foster development of businesses through the entrepreneurial venture studio model
“The center’s ongoing mission is to develop the next generation of talented entrepreneurs and innovators to create impactful business and design solutions to address society’s greatest challenges,” said Larry Griffith, UNCF senior vice president of programs and student services. “We are committed to creating opportunities for synergy and collaboration among Black and other students of color and educators, institutions and partners to establish and grow wealth and increase social impact within communities of color. As more college students and graduates of diverse backgrounds pursue interests in business ownership and entrepreneurship, the UNCF Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is designed to help facilitate their interests and achieve success in their economic and social impact endeavors.”
