The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation has received a 2026 Excellence in Economic Development Silver Award from the International Economic Development Council.

The award was for the organisation’s work in the Public Private Partnership category for the 25,000 to 200,000 population group.

BEDC will be honoured at the IEDC 2026 annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, from October 25 to 28.

Nathan Ohle, IEDC president and chief executive officer, said: “The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation is leading the field of excellence in economic development with its Wave of Opportunity Pitch Competition.

“This award shines a spotlight on BEDC’s commitment to its community and showcases the significant impact of economic development.”

Each year, the IEDC honours economic development organisations, government entities, initiatives and programmes that consistently demonstrate excellence.

The group said honourees lead transformational projects that revitalise communities and advance the practice of economic development.

The award recognised the Wave of Opportunity Pitch Competition, a ten-year partnership between BEDC and Global Atlantic Financial Group, launched in 2023 to address one of the most persistent barriers facing Bermudian entrepreneurs, limited access to start-up and growth capital.

Held each year during Global Entrepreneurship Week Bermuda, the Pitch Competition awards up to $125,000 annually in grant funding across three Local Industry Innovator awards, a Young Adult award and a People’s Choice award.

The programme pairs funding with a full development pipeline that includes application screening, preliminary pitch rounds, business coaching, pitch boot camps and mentorship.

Since its launch, the competition has distributed $375,000 in direct grant funding to local entrepreneurs, drawn more than 200 attendees to each of the live finals, and created ongoing accountability check-ins with recipients in the year following their win.

Global Atlantic supports the initiative through a multiyear funding commitment and participates directly in judging and mentorship.

“To be recognised on an international stage alongside organisations many times our size says a great deal about the development of Bermuda’s entrepreneurial and economic development ecosystem,” said Erica Smith, executive director of BEDC.

“We are proud recipients of a Silver Award for Public Private Partnership, and this recognition belongs just as much to Global Atlantic and to every entrepreneur who has stood on that stage and pitched their business.”

She added: “The Wave of Opportunity Pitch Competition was built on a simple idea, that access to capital should not be the barrier that stops a good business from getting started.

“Watching that idea grow into a programme that has already put $375,000 directly into the hands of local entrepreneurs over the last three years, while giving them the coaching and the confidence to use it well, has been one of the most rewarding parts of this work.

“I am excited about what the remaining seven years in the partnership will bring.”