Florida SBDC at UCF Named SBA’s 2026 National Small Business Development Center of the Year
FSBDC at UCF Recognized by U.S. Small Business Administration with Excellence and Innovation Award; To Be Honored During National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C.
April 2, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or HThayer@ucf.edu
Orlando, FL – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the winners of the 2026 National Small Business Week Awards, and the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) has earned top honors. From more than 1,000 centers nationwide, the FSBDC at UCF has been selected as the SBA’s National Small Business Development Center of the Year – recognizing its outstanding performance, innovative programming, and leadership in supporting Central Florida’s entrepreneurs and small businesses.
“We are humbled yet immensely gratified to be honored as the SBDC of the Year by the SBA,” said Eunice Choi, Regional Director of the FSBDC at UCF. “Our team takes great pride in its unwavering commitment to serving the small business community and advancing SBA’s mission. This award reflects our consistent ability to exceed SBA milestones and outperform our own high expectations within the Florida SBDC Network.”
Each year, the SBA celebrates National Small Business Week by recognizing exceptional small business owners, entrepreneurs, and resource partners from across the country. This year’s winners have been invited to Washington, D.C., May 3–4, where they will be honored during national ceremonies.
“This year’s NSBW celebration is particularly historic as our nation commemorates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, when our Founding Fathers laid the groundwork for the liberty that powers the engine of free enterprise. The result is our nation’s prosperity and entrepreneurial spirit – the very spirit your leadership exemplifies,” commented SBA Administrator Kelley Loeffler in a letter of congratulations to Eunice Choi and the Florida SBDC at UCF.
For information about Florida SBDC at UCF, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com.
— FSBDC —
About the FSBDC at UCF
Hosted by the University of Central Florida (UCF), and with its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of part of UCF’s Office of the President and the Florida SBDC Network.
The Florida SBDC at UCF provides aspiring and existing small businesses with no-cost consulting, low-cost training, and access to business data and research resources. In addition to its core service offering, the Florida SBDC at UCF also offers specialized services to qualifying companies, including capital access, market growth, government contracting, international trade, business continuation, cybersecurity, disaster planning and recovery, and more. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 9 service centers across Central Florida.
In 2024, the FSBDC at UCF served 2,277 entrepreneurs in Central Florida with consulting services, resulting in more than 2,855 jobs impacted; $564.3 million in sales growth; $57.2 million in capital formation; $161.1 million in government contract awards; and 142 new businesses started. For more information, please visit www.sbdcorlando.com .
About the Florida SBDC Network
For nearly 50 years, the Florida SBDC Network, the state’s principal provider of business assistance [Fl. Stat. 288.001], has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development to provide existing and emerging small and medium-sized business owners with management and knowledge resources that enable overall growth, increased profitability, and economic prosperity for Florida’s economy.
In 2024, the Florida SBDC Network delivered 107,812 hours of consulting to 15,474 small business clients – resulting in business owners securing $304 million in capital, $732 million in government contracting, impacting 19,800 jobs, increasing sales by over $3.8 billion, and creating 1,019 businesses.
With over 40 offices statewide, the Florida SBDC is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Department of Defense, State of Florida and other private and public partners. Full funding disclosure available at www.floridasbdc.org/funding-disclosures/.
The Florida SBDC Network, headquartered at the University of West Florida, is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs and is a recipient of the President’s E Award for Export Service. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for individuals with limited English proficiency. For more information, please visit www.FloridaSBDC.org.
FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com
