Orlando, Fla. (August 23, 2021) – The power of the UCF Business Incubation Program is on display with the release of the finalists for the 2021 GrowFL Florida Companies to Watch.

Out of the 22 finalist located in the Central Florida area, five are either graduates or current clients of the UCF Business Incubation Program.

“It’s truly a reason to celebrate when so many of our business are recognized for being among the top businesses for innovation, performance and potential success,” says Rob Panepinto, director, Innovation Districts Strategy and Partnerships and senior strategic advisor, Partnerships and Innovation, University of Central Florida. “This truly is another example to show the impact of this program on the Central Florida economy both now and in the future.”

The UCF companies among the 22 companies in the Central Florida region were:

According to GrowFL, “the finalists were selected from more than 600 nominations from throughout Florida and represent a diverse group of growing companies representing a variety of industries.

“Companies to Watch was developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation as a unique way to recognize and honor second-stage companies that demonstrate high performance in the marketplace with innovative strategies and processes. In addition to evaluating past growth and projected success, applicant companies are judged according to their special strengths and impact in their markets, communities, and within the state – thus deeming them worth watching.

“To qualify for the award, companies must have between 6 and 150 employees and revenue between $750,000 and $100 million in 2020.”

For the full list of companies who are finalists, please click here.

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For more information, please contact:

UCF Business Incubation Program: Carol Ann Dykes Logue, 407-635-9882, carolann.dykeslogue@ucf.edu or Alan Byrd, Alan Byrd & Associates, 407-415-8470, Alan@ByrdConnections.com

About the UCF Business Incubation Program: The University of Central Florida Business Incubation Program is a community resource that provides early-stage companies with the tools, training and infrastructure to become financially stable, high growth/impact enterprises. Since 1999, this award-winning program has provided vital business development resources resulting in over 300 local startup companies reaching their potential faster and graduating into the community where they continue to grow and positively impact the local economy.

With seven facilities throughout the region, the UCF Business Incubation Program is an economic development partnership between the University of Central Florida, the Corridor, Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia Counties, and the cities of Kissimmee, Orlando and Winter Springs. For the 2017/2018 fiscal years, the activities of these participating firms have helped to sustain more than 6,725 local jobs and have had a cumulative impact of over $725 million on regional GDP and over $1.3 billion on regional sales. During the same period, the program has returned more than $12.00 in state and local taxes for every $1.00 invested in the program. In addition, for every $1.00 of public investment the firms also produced $118 of additional regional GDP and $226 of regional sales. For more information, visit  www.incubator.ucf.edu.