DURHAM – NC IDEA will host its annual Ecosystem Summit on November 14-15, 2022 in Winston-Salem, NC during Global Entrepreneurship Week. This year’s Summit, themed “To Be Rather Than to Seem”, will prominently feature our ECOSYSTEM partners and their work to equitably strengthen our economy.
Attendees will reconnect in person this year as we showcase the growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem that has supported a record-breaking number of new high-propensity firm filings since 2020. Several hundred attendees will join us from around the state representing: Universities, HBCUs, Community Colleges, Small Business Centers, CDFIs, Economic Development Organizations, Public School Administrators, Foundations and Philanthropists, county and local government officials, policy makers and inspirational entrepreneurs.
The Ecosystem Summit is the only statewide conference of its kind that uniquely brings together diverse leaders in the North Carolina entrepreneurial ecosystem and economic development professionals to address what is needed to support all entrepreneurs and create a shared vision of making North Carolina the best place to start and grow a business.
PAST SUMMITS
In November 2019, NC IDEA hosted the first-ever Ecosystem Summit with the ambition to catalyze entrepreneurship as an economic development strategy for the state of North Carolina. The Summit was an unprecedented gathering of nearly 500 individuals and organizations who support, encourage and nourish North Carolina’s entrepreneurs. Attendees came together to share what is working; address issues and concerns; meet and network with those doing similar work in other communities; and celebrate and promote entrepreneurs and their successes across the state.
In both 2020 and 2021, attendees connected virtually to celebrate entrepreneurship and look to the future of building a strong entrepreneurial ecosystem for all.
