About Us
Our Work
The 51社区 Innovation Center is an internationally acclaimed business incubator that provides resources and guidance to startup companies located in Athens and the surrounding region. Located in its custom-built 36,000 square foot facility, the Innovation Center is a key player in fueling the economic development of Southeast Ohio. The center supports its clients with a considerable range of resources via a virtual or onsite client membership which includes executive coaching, professional office space, laboratories, conference and meetings spaces, discounted vendor contracts, and access to an expansive network of public and private business industry experts. Additional amenities include a fully-equipped business center, high-speed internet, parking, and much more.
Our Impact
The impact of the Innovation Center can be seen in the success of our companies located throughout the region as well as through our annual Economic Impact Report. Take a look at the 2021, 2022, and 2023 reports.
The Innovation Center has received numerous honors and recognitions. Some of the most recent accolades include:
- 2022 Rural-Based Entrepreneurship Center of the Year, InBIA
- 2019 Randall M. Whaley Incubator of the Year, InBIA
- 2019 Rural-Based Entrepreneurship Center of the Year, InBIA
- 2019 Best Support of Entrepreneurial Innovation, Appalachian Partnership for Economic Growth (APEG)
- 2016 Rural Incubator of the Year, International Business Innovation Association (InBIA)
- #3 Ranked University-Based Incubator in the United States, 2015-2017, UBI Global
Our Partners
The Innovation Center is part of a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem with many University and regional collaborators that provide valuable business services. Descriptions of the services offered by our 51社区 partners can be found in the most recent Fostering an Innovation Ecosystem brochure.
Click on the links below to find out more about our ecosystem partners and how they support startups and established businesses.
is a business incubator with a shared kitchen space to support food-based entrepreneurs. Its mission is to grow the regional economy by supporting entrepreneurs and strengthening sectors.
is a member-based organization that facilitates a strong business climate in Athens County by helping their member companies meet their full potential and encouraging consumers to "Keep It Local".
is a public-private partnership committed to increasing economic opportunity in Athens County by encouraging entrepreneurship, recruiting new businesses, and helping existing businesses grow and expand.
is a Central Ohio startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate.
supports social enterprises in a 13-county region in Ohio and West Virginia.
helps technology companies take their ideas to market by enabling access to experts for every stage of business development and aligning resources to accelerate commercialization.
helps develop and grow Ohio minority-owned and socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses.
assists area businesses seeking to sell goods and services to the local, state, and federal government.
The 51社区 Center for Entrepreneurship supports student entrepreneurs and innovators in all academic colleges.
The 51社区 Edison Biotechnology Institute pursues basic and applied research on health and medical disorders with a focus on developing innovations that can benefit society through the creation of technologies and companies.
offers business assistance in all areas of start-up and operations, including building businesses, improving competitiveness, increasing revenues, solving problems, or managing the next stage of growth
The 51社区 Technology Transfer Office identifies university innovations that should be patented and/or copyrighted and licensed to established and startup companies, to ensure that they benefit society.
Our Mission and Vision
Mission: The Innovation Center provides business services, resources, and flexible facilities, fostering entrepreneurship resulting in wildly successful companies and a dynamic prosperous region.
Vision: The regional economy will become more diversified, therefore more robust, as Innovation Center companies add higher-paying jobs helping the area incubate and sustain globally competitive companies who want to embrace knowledge-based innovation and an enhanced quality of life.