Clark Atlanta University (CAU) today announced that it will play host to more than 200 startup businesses and entrepreneurs at this year’s prestigious Atlanta Startup Awards. The annual event, which is organized by community non-profit, Startup Atlanta, will take place 6PM Thursday, November 21 at the university’s Bishop Cornelius L. Henderson Student Center.

The Atlanta Startup Awards event celebrates the city’s most successful rising tech companies, startup pioneers and disruptive innovators.  "We’re excited to partner with Clark Atlanta University and the RCIE to celebrate the entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders who make this city great," said Adam Harrell, Board Chair at Startup Atlanta. "This will be our third annual Atlanta Startup Awards and we’re confident it will be the best one yet."

The selection of CAU as a venue, which comes as a collaboration made possible by the CAU School of Business Administration and the Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE), marks the first time that the Atlanta Startup Awards will take place in Southwest Atlanta.

“We are honored to be selected to host Startup Atlanta’s annual awards program this year,” says Dr. George T. French, Jr., CAU President.  “For more than 150 years, CAU and its parent institutions, Atlanta University (1865) and Clark College (1869), have been pioneers in educating and developing leaders who possess an entrepreneurial spirit and who have created businesses from the ground up.  This collaborative effort is in line with CAU’s five strategic pillars of Excellence, Engagement, Discovery, Creativity, and Service.”

In addition to hosting the event, the university’s radio and cable television stations, Jazz 91.9-WCLK-FM and CAU-TV, will serve among the media sponsors for the Atlanta Startup Awards.

Located within a couple of blocks from each other, both CAU and the RCIE are based in Atlanta’s historic Westside, which has seen tremendous activity in recent years. The area is home to major professional sports facilities, convention complexes, and the Atlanta University Center (AUC), which is the world’s largest consortium of historically black colleges and universities. The Westside is also a place with significant cultural and historic assets, residential communities and hundreds of entrepreneurs.

“Imagine the collective and collaborative power of harnessing all of the very best resources in the region to give Entrepreneurs, Startups, and Scaleups the resource, access, and opportunities needed to fly," said James “Jay” Bailey, President/CEO at the Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. " Startup Atlanta is bringing all the pieces together and RCIE is honored to be a part of it."

Startup businesses and entrepreneurs from across Metro Atlanta are encouraged to participate in the Atlanta Startup Awards and nominations are now open in eight categories:

Scrappiest Startup Award

Best B2C Startup

Best Growth Stage Startup

Community Influencer

Equity Champion

Best B2B Startup

Best Social Impact Startup

The Art of the Pivot

Nominations are open until October 22 and can be made here.