About the UCF Business Incubation Program

The UCF Business Incubation Program (UCFBIP) provides business development and operational support to early-stage, technology and innovation-driven businesses throughout Central Florida. Since 1999, this award-winning program has supported hundreds of companies, who have collectively generated more than $400 million in sales and over $100 million in outside funding.

The UCFBIP is a non-profit community resource offering three programs that are each designed to help businesses at different stages.

  • Traction Program: helps new technology and innovation-driven companies with little to no revenue to build the operational foundation of the business and develop a go-to-market strategy to cultivate an initial customer base. To be eligible, applicants must be (1) headquartered in Central Florida; (2) have a scalable, for-profit business model; and *(3) have a minimal viable product (MVP) or service ready to sell.

* Grant funding to support research & development is a sufficient substitute for an MVP.

  • Growth Program: helps technology and innovation-driven companies with existing traction in the market to develop the infrastructure for scaling their business. To be eligible, applicants must be (1) headquartered in Central Florida; (2) have a scalable, for-profit business model; and (3) have already generated revenue from their product or service. 
  • Soft Landing Program: helps international technology and innovation-driven companies headquartered outside the region to support their business development efforts from Central Florida. To be eligible, applicants must be (1) headquartered beyond the Central Florida region upon applying; (2) cannot be a franchise; (3) must have at least one full-time business developer from Central Florida office; and (4) all employees must be authorized to work in the United States. 

UCF operates eight incubators across four counties. Many of these facilities serve a broad range of industries. However, the incubators located within UCF’s Innovation Districts support companies within specific industry verticals. The Innovation District incubators and their respective industry clusters are listed below: 

CENTRAL FLORIDA RESEARCH PARK

Defense/Military, Modeling Simulation & Training, Cybersecurity, Photonics, Robotics, Energy, Space

DOWNTOWN

Digital Media, Smart City Technology, FinTech, EdTech, Hospitality & Tourism Tech

LAKE NONA

Life Sciences, Healthcare, Medical Simulation