University of Maine System strengthens statewide small business support as Maine Center for Entrepreneurs programs join the Maine Center

A $2 million investment from the Harold Alfond Foundation will bolster MCE’s proven entrepreneurship programs through the System’s Maine Center, helping more Mainers start and scale businesses with the expertise and resources of Maine’s public universities

PORTLAND, Maine — The Maine Center for Entrepreneurs (MCE), a leading statewide entrepreneurship development organization since 1997, will move its programs to the University of Maine System’s (UMS) Graduate and Professional Center (Maine Center) effective Oct. 1.

The transition will sustain MCE’s proven programs while strengthening the statewide impact of the entrepreneurship, innovation and workforce development efforts of Maine’s public universities. 

Founded as part of former Gov. Angus King's economic diversification strategy, MCE has enabled thousands of entrepreneurs to start, strengthen and scale their businesses through popular programs such as Top Gun and the Maine Mentor Network, among others. For the past decade, MCE’s signature food business-scaling programs, Cultivator and MarketShare, were developed and offered in partnership with FocusMaine, which is completing its 10-year initiative this year. 

The decision to consolidate MCE’s programs into the Maine Center resulted from discussions between leaders of both organizations and FocusMaine. The Harold Alfond Foundation (HAF) has generously granted $2 million to UMS to facilitate the merger and provide support for MCE's programs, building on its prior investments in MCE’s food programs through FocusMaine and a broader commitment through UMS TRANSFORMS to advance talent development and innovation at Maine’s public universities, including through the Maine Center.

“With its focus on fostering innovation and graduate, professional and entrepreneurial education and its ability to connect and catalyze the strengths of the entire University of Maine System, the Maine Center is uniquely positioned to ensure MCE’s proven programs continue to deliver value and statewide impact far into the future,” said HAF Executive Chairman Greg Powell. “We are proud to support this next chapter and the stronger, more connected entrepreneurial ecosystem it will help create for Maine.” 

Current participants in the MCE programs that the Maine Center will administer starting next month can expect continuity in services and staff. They will additionally benefit from coordinated access to the world-class resources of Maine’s public universities, including research and cooperative extension expertise and facilities through the R1 University of Maine, student and alumni talent pipelines, and statewide economic development partnerships.

"This transition is about building on a strong foundation and ensuring that Maine's entrepreneurs have access to even greater resources and opportunities to thrive in the years ahead," said MCE Executive Director Thomas Rainey, who has led the nonprofit for the past decade and is retiring this month. "For nearly three decades, MCE has served as a catalyst for innovation and business growth across Maine. We are proud of that legacy and confident that the Maine Center is the right home for these programs as they enter their next chapter. We are also deeply grateful for the ongoing support of our many partners and funders, including the Maine Technology Institute, Maine Department of Economic and Community Development and FocusMaine, whose commitment has helped make our programming possible and supported Maine entrepreneurs throughout our deeply impactful history." 

MCE’s programs will be co-located with a recently launched Business & Law Clinic, the 50-member Foundry, AI training and other services to support startups and early-stage companies in a new 10,000-square-foot entrepreneurship and innovation hub funded by one-time Congressionally Directed Spending through the U.S. Small Business Administration secured by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and opening in early 2027 at the Maine Center in downtown Portland. Also home to the University of Maine School of Law and UMaine’s Graduate School of Business, the Maine Center brings together UMS graduate and professional education, innovation and entrepreneurial support to strengthen Maine’s workforce and economy. 

“The University of Maine System is proud to be entrusted to preserve MCE’s proven programs and partnerships. By uniting these successful entrepreneurial supports, mentorship and business accelerators with the reach and world-class resources of Maine’s public universities through the Maine Center, we can better support our state’s small businesses at every stage of growth so they can succeed, create and sustain good-paying jobs, and strengthen our innovation economy,” said UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy.

Following MCE’s integration, the Maine Center will directly support more than 200 entrepreneurs and small businesses annually through its programs and a statewide network of more than 300 mentors. 

“Maine entrepreneurs will benefit from stronger connections to the extraordinary educational, research and commercialization resources available across the University of Maine System and especially through our R1 research university,” said UMaine President and UMS Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Joan Ferrini-Mundy. “Integrating MCE into the Maine Center will better connect businesses with our cutting-edge UMaine researchers, creating new pathways to turn promising ideas and discoveries into value-added products, companies and careers while strengthening Maine’s broader innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem and accelerating economic growth and competitiveness statewide.” 

The transition was announced today at an event at Luke’s Lobster, a family-owned seafood business based in Maine that has scaled into an international success with support from both MCE and UMaine. In addition to remarks from Chancellor Malloy, President/Vice Chancellor Ferrini-Mundy and Executive Director Rainey, speakers included Maine Center CEO Seth Goodall, MCE Board Chair Skip Bates and Luke’s Lobster Co-Founder Ben Conniff.

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About the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs
Founded in 1997, the Maine Center for Entrepreneurs (MCE) has been a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Maine entrepreneurs launch, grow and succeed. Through mentoring, education, business acceleration and industry-specific programming, MCE has supported thousands of entrepreneurs and emerging companies throughout Maine.

About the University of Maine System/Maine Center
The University of Maine System (UMS) is the state’s largest driver of educational attainment and economic development, and its seven public universities are the most affordable in New England. Over the past decade, UMS has awarded more than 60,000 door-opening degrees and certificates, led by those in majors most aligned with the state’s workforce needs, including business, education, healthcare, liberal arts, and engineering and computing. Alumni of its flagship UMaine earn more than two times the state’s median income. The Maine Center serves as the System’s hub for graduate and professional education, entrepreneurship and innovation, and convening to drive Maine’s economic growth and competitiveness. For more information, visit www.maine.edu/mainecenter.