The county has pulled together its various economic development resources to create the Maryland Center for Entrepreneurship, County Executive Ken Ulman announced Wednesday, Nov. 14.

"Howard County has earned the reputation of being an important, strategic region to cultivate, support, and bolster innovative ideas and companies across the entire state," Ulman said in a statement. "We will continue to focus on job creation by supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs, and this Center is poised to help them succeed."

The MCE, which pulls together the business incubator, the Business Resource Center, the Howard Technology Council and the Catalyst Loan Fund, aims to strengthen economic development opportunities throughout the state by encouraging innovation at the local level. Through partnerships with other Howard County and state economic development groups and research institutions, the MCE will offer programs that will help spur innovation and new business opportunities.

"We are building a culture of entrepreneurship in Howard County that provides a model and the environment for businesses to launch and grow in Maryland," Laura Neuman, director and CEO of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, said in a statement.

Neuman has hired Julie Lenzer Kirk, co-founder of the Path Forward Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a nonprofit that works to expand business opportunities for women, to serve as executive director of the MCE.

"As an entrepreneur myself, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to bring together the resources I wish I had when launching my first business 16 years ago," Lenzer Kirk said in a statement. "The raw materials are here in Howard County, and I'm looking forward to working on the EDA team to help businesses thrive."