Virginia Union University Center for Entrepreneurship Awarded $25,000 Innovation Grant from the PNC National Center for Entrepreneurship

August 09, 2023

Virginia Union University was one of 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities to receive the first Innovation Grants from the National Center for Entrepreneurship, a partnership between Howard University and PNC Financial Services. The awards were presented at the inaugural Howard University and PNC Black Commerce Conference in Washington, D.C., in June 2023. The National Black Commerce Conference is a new and innovative entrepreneurship experience exclusively for Black entrepreneurs and their supporters. The conference empowers the current and next generation of business owners with resources, information, tools, skills, and opportunities to collectively launch and scale their impact locally, nationally, and worldwide.

During the 2-day event, over 500 attendees benefited from panels, workshops, and learning sessions in Elevating Emerging Entrepreneurs, Empowering the Ecosystem, Investing, and Impact. The National Center for Entrepreneurship with Howard University and PNC awarded grants to the following HBCUs; Virginia Union University, Bowie State University, Prairie View, Southern University, Texas Southern University, Benedict College, South Carolina State University, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, and Howard University. At the conference, ten HBCU research fellows were awarded for their cutting-edge entrepreneurship research.  

VUUs Center for Entrepreneurship is one of 19 Research Centers housed at Union National Research Institute of the Sponsored Research and Innovation Division. Dr. Robin R. Davis, VUUs Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Executive Dean for the Sydney Lewis School of Business, participated in a panel entitled Utilizing our HBCUs to Build Black Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.  

"Our VUU Center for Entrepreneurship team and partners on and off campus will work to expand entrepreneurship opportunities to VUU students and local entrepreneurs by establishing innovative programs and activities with the $25,000 grant," Davis said.  

To learn more about VUUs Center for Entrepreneurship, contact Dr. Robin R. Davis by e-mail at rrdavis@vuu.edu.