Birmingham Launches Entrepreneurship Center to Boost Small Businesses

New data-driven hub aims to streamline support, strengthen collaboration, and accelerate growth for local entrepreneurs.

Mar. 16, 2026 at 12:23pm

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The Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence has launched in Birmingham, Alabama, as a centralized hub to coordinate resources and support for the city's small businesses. The center is the result of a three-year effort led by Kendra Key, a community engagement executive at Regions Bank, to engage local business owners, support organizations, and partners in order to strengthen Birmingham's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The EC will serve as a "front door" for entrepreneurs, provide growth strategies, convene the local business support network, and facilitate peer connections.

Why it matters

Birmingham's rate of new business formation has lagged behind peer metro areas, underscoring the need for more robust support systems for local entrepreneurs. The new Entrepreneurship Center aims to address this gap by streamlining access to resources, improving coordination among support providers, and driving measurable outcomes like revenue growth, job creation, and business sustainability.

The details

The Entrepreneurship Center is supported by a range of partners, including Regions Bank, the Regions Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Mastercard, and Prosper Birmingham. Regions Bank has played a key leadership role, providing financial investment, loaning Kendra Key to serve as the EC's inaugural executive director, and committing Regions' Head of Community Engagement Leroy Abrahams to chair the EC's board. The center will initially focus on supporting businesses in industries like food service, retail, construction, healthcare, childcare, and professional services, while also coordinating efforts to assist startups and growth-stage companies.

  • The Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence launched on February 12, 2026.
  • Kendra Key was hired by Regions Bank in 2023 to lead the effort to establish the new center.

The players

Kendra Key

Senior Vice President for Community Engagement at Regions Bank and the inaugural Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence.

Leroy Abrahams

Head of Community Engagement at Regions Bank and the Board Chair of the Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence.

Randall Woodfin

The Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama.

John Turner

Chairman, President and CEO of Regions Bank.

Regions Bank

The financial services company that provided leadership, funding, and a loaned executive to help establish the Entrepreneurship Center.

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What they’re saying

“The Entrepreneurship Center is the outgrowth of years of conversations with business owners, business-support organizations and partners who have worked tirelessly to strengthen Birmingham's economic future.”

— Randall Woodfin, Mayor of Birmingham

“Over the course of three years, she led a thoughtful and vigorous effort to engage those who need support and those who have long worked in the space.”

— Leroy Abrahams, Head of Community Engagement at Regions Bank

“Birmingham's entrepreneurs are our neighbors, and their dreams shape the places we call home. At the EC, we're here to listen, connect and walk alongside them – one clear next step at a time – so together we can grow jobs, strengthen families and build a community where small businesses thrive.”

— Kendra Key, Senior Vice President for Community Engagement at Regions and Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence

What’s next

The Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence will now focus on executing its long-term vision to build a robust, best-in-class entrepreneurial ecosystem in Birmingham. Early efforts will prioritize supporting businesses in key local industries like food service, retail, construction, healthcare, childcare, and professional services, while also coordinating support for startups and growth-stage companies.

The takeaway

The launch of the Entrepreneurship Center for Growth and Excellence represents a significant step forward in Birmingham's efforts to strengthen its small business landscape and foster greater economic prosperity. By serving as a centralized hub to coordinate resources, connect entrepreneurs to the right support, and drive measurable outcomes, the center aims to address the city's lagging new business formation rates and empower local entrepreneurs to grow, hire, and contribute to the region's economic momentum.