UBI Global Ranks YBI Tops in North America

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio –  The  Youngstown Business Incubator has again been recognized as one of the top incubators in the world. The recognition, by UBI Global in Stockholm, Sweden, was announced Tuesday.

In a slightly modified category for 2015, YBI was the top University Associated Incubator in North America, and came in second in the world rankings, behind the Dublin Enterprise & Technology Centre, also known as the Guinness Enterprise Centre, in Dublin, Ireland.

In 2014, UBI Global ranked YBI as the top University Affiliated Incubator in the world.

“We’re again thrilled and honored to be recognized for our accomplishments by UBI Global. The 2014 acknowledgement really served as a baseline for us to understand our strengths, and to begin developing new programs to address our weaknesses. It has helped us take YBI from a good program to a great program,” said Barb Ewing, YBI’s chief operating office.

In its application for the 2015 award, YBI noted the creation of a new Women’s Entrepreneurship program, the start of renovations on a new facility for both incubation and graduate space, the creation of a $100,000 start-up competition, and the development of an investment fund with two other regional partners.

A Top University Associated Business Incubator is an incubator with no formal affiliation but works closely with a university to provide better value for the ecosystem and their startup clients than their regional or global peers. They stand out from average-performing incubators with better outcomes on economy enhancement, access to funds and post incubation performance indicators, according to the release.

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