NCGrowth
Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise

Showcases and Immersives

A woman with curly gray hair wearing glasses and a floral print shirt holds a flyer with a QR code and a microphone, speaking to an audience. A man in a suit and tie is seated to her right. A poster with "FEB 24 2026" and "MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER" is in the background.

Moving Forward Together: Building Resilience of Small Businesses and Communities

Apr 20, 2026 • News & Media

On February 24 we hosted our annual Carolina Engagement Week Showcase event, gathering partners, clients, students and community and business leaders to connect and reflect on building the resilience of small businesses and communities.  We are honored to do this work alongside businesses and organizations across the Carolinas, and beyond, several of whom shared their stories about what this support means to them.
NCGrowth Hosts National Webinar on Purposeful Purchasing with IEDC and NGIN

NCGrowth Hosts National Webinar on Purposeful Purchasing with IEDC and NGIN

Jan 5, 2026 • News & Media • 2 min read

Alyse Polly, formerly of NCGrowth and now at UC Berkeley, moderated a conversation with Deborah Diamond of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Swati Ghosh of the New Growth Innovation Network, and Dell Gines of the International Economic Development Council on how anchor institutions can turn everyday spending into engines of inclusive growth. Diamond outlined how universities and hospitals shape local prosperity through employment, procurement, and construction, and described tools that quantify both direct impacts and ripple effects across jobs, income, and GDP. Ghosh emphasized inclusive procurement as a practical pathway for small and diverse businesses to build wealth—especially in smaller cities where a handful of large buyers dominate demand—while Gines framed anchors as catalysts in a broader, modern approach to economic development that centers communities, small firms, and shared prosperity.
Purposeful Procurement: Growing Local Economies
Sep 14, 2026

Purposeful Procurement: Growing Local Economies

Public institutions spend more than $1.3 trillion annually—a powerful lever for advancing equity and driving local economic growth. This webinar explores strategies from NCGrowth’s "Guide for Building Inclusive Economic Opportunity Through Strategic Purchasing," offering actionable insights for expanding supplier diversity and engaging historically underutilized businesses. Join NCGrowth for a conversation on how anchor institutions can use procurement to strengthen communities, foster innovation, and create sustainable economic opportunity.

Empowering Growth: Entrepreneurs and Leaders Gather for NCGrowth’s Fall Showcase

Empowering Growth: Entrepreneurs and Leaders Gather for NCGrowth’s Fall Showcase

Nov 17, 2025 • News & Media • 1 min read

The NCGrowth Fall Showcase hosted in Maysville, NC brought together 40+ community partners, entrepreneurs, and local leaders to celebrate innovative projects advancing inclusive economic development across Southeastern North Carolina. We heard insightful presentations from NCGrowth clients which included: the Town of Maysville (Schumata Brown), the Enfield Alliance Coalition (Larry Perkins), Freedom Org (Kendrick Ransome and Aerhealle Chace), Queen of All Things (Lonyae McClune), and the Lumbee Tribe’s Ag NRD Foodways Initiative (Pat Dial). We were also joined by Thom Ruhe, CEO of NCIDEA, the primary event sponsor.
People converse at a table with papers and a laptop during an indoor event.
Sep 14, 2026

Thriving in the Carolinas: Supporting Small Businesses and Communities

This drop-in style event will showcase the work of NCGrowth and the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise, partners of the UNC Kenan-Flager Business School. Stations will be set up spotlighting client projects with small businesses and communities, new economic research initiatives, and student involvement. Tribally-led tourism development, outdoor recreation economies, Hurricane Helene recovery, and small manufacturers innovating in rural North Carolina – these are a few topics you can expect to dive into!
Bertie County Showcase Fosters Connections and Future Collaborations

Bertie County Showcase Fosters Connections and Future Collaborations

Dec 12, 2023 • News & Media • 1 min read

In late November, attendees from across the eastern region of North Carolina joined the NCGrowth team in Bertie County. Attendees learned about our projects supporting businesses, communities, and local and Tribal governments including Pamlico County, Enc96radio, the Haliwa-Saponi Tribe, Town of Garysburg, and Slice 325. After lunch, the team and guests toured Indulge Aesthetics, the Cashie Treehouse Village, and the site of a developing park in Bertie County currently known “Tall Glass of Water”.
Hampton Roads, VA

Supporting Businesses in Hampton Roads, VA

Oct 4, 2023 • News & Media • 1 min read

The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED) has pioneered the Native Edge Institute, one-day, in-person events that provide both established and aspiring business owners with critical business training. Through an collaborative partnership between NCGrowth and NCAIED, we have been able to expand these events to new locations across the U.S. This video highlights a recent Native Edge Institute hosted in Norfolk, VA which connected participants to resources available in their region, along with one-on-one business counseling, coaching, and matchmaking services.
Pembroke Showcase
Sep 14, 2026

Pembroke Showcase

The Pembroke Showcase event will feature some of the work of CREATE and NCGrowth in North Carolina’s Sandhills Region. We will hear from small business and local organizations that are working to grow economic opportunities and create more good paying jobs in the region. We will also hear about the new AICER (Anchor Institutions Create Economic Resilience) initiative, which builds on previous work with UNC Pembroke to expand the university’s economic impact on the local region.