DURHAM –  NC IDEA announced on Friday 15 new partnerships through the organization’s ECOSYSTEM program at the Foundation’s 2021 Ecosystem Summit.

The partnerships, known as regional impact grants, are meant to “further strengthen the infrastructure supporting North Carolina entrepreneurs,” said Ruhe.

The grant program from NC IDEA required at least two organizations within a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem to collaborate on a program supporting entrepreneurs that were building scalable businesses, with a goal of spurring and strengthening collaboration and resource sharing within regions across the state.  Several such partnerships were funded under the leadership of the North Carolina Black Entrepreneurship Council, NC BEC, said NC IDEA, due to the focus on elevating black entrepreneurship in the selected region.

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According to NC IDEA, the recipients of the ECOSYSTEM grants are:

Statewide

Charlotte/Central Piedmont Region

Eastern NC Region

Piedmont Triad Region

Research Triangle Region

Western NC/Mountains Region

Wilmington/Coastal NC and Sandhills Region