Certified Entrepreneur Community

Burke County is a designated Certified Entrepreneurial Community (CEC). This exceptional honor means our county's entrepreneur environment is vibrant and active. Designation comes from AdvantageWest, the regional economic development group for Western North Carolina.

Visit the AdvantageWest Certified Entrepreneur Community site

To obtain certification, team members from Burke County completed a rigorous five step process. These steps include assessing the community's current entrepreneurial landscape, creating a comprehensive strategy for entrepreneurial growth, marshaling the community's entrepreneurial resources, and identifying and nurturing the community's most promising entrepreneurial talents.

As a result of this certification process, a key networking group named BeBo, Burke Entrepreneurs & Business Owners, evolved. BeBo provides ongoing networking opportunities. People already involved or who want to become involved in the business community have a chance to exchange ideas and expertise; this in turn fosters a culture of entrepreneurship, Moseley said. Quarterly networking events are held at different locations across the county to encourage attendance and participation.

Burke County led the region in developing this entrepreneurial network, says Pam Lewis, Senior Vice President of Entrepreneurial Development at AdvantageWest. One of the keys to success for a CEC is developing ways to connect your entrepreneurs, creating a peer-to-peer network. When entrepreneurs get together they learn from each others successes and failures. They form strategic partnerships. It energizes the whole CEC program.

Achieving the status of a Certified Entrepreneurial Community lets the local, regional, and national community know Burke County is entrepreneur-ready!