Florida Business Incubation Assn. extremely proud of two members winning several big international awards

Orlando, Fla. --The Florida Business Incubation Association (FBIA), a professional network that supports business incubators and economic development throughout Florida, is very proud of two of its members, UF Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator and the University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program, which at the recent National Business Incubation Association 2013 International Conference won several international awards. The UF Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator won two awards -- the Dinah Adkins Incubator of the Year award for incubators with a technology focus, followed by the highest award, the Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year, for overall excellence. In the process, they topped incubators more than twice their size, such as the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp. The UCF Business Incubation Program won the 2013 Incubator Network award and won over another great network of incubators in the US, the Purdue Technology Centers, in Indiana. UCFBIP is a university-driven community partnership that includes nine business incubators in Central Florida. Its mission is to provide early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to create financially stable, high-growth enterprises that lead to positive economic impact within local communities. Dr. Tom O’Neal, president of the Florida Business Incubation Assn. and executive director of the UCF Business Incubation Program in Orlando, is extremely pleased, and said it has never occurred that two different incubation programs from Florida achieved so many NBIA awards for the programs themselves. "Normally it is our excellent clients and graduates that bring home many NBIA awards," Dr. O'Neal said. "This symbolizes that the Florida incubators really know what they are doing, the quality of the business climate here, and the high level of support for our entrepreneurs, giving them solid ground to develop and flourish."