Another business incubator is officially open in Centre County.

Thursday marked the grand opening of the SpringBoard Business Incubator in Bellefonte.

The incubator can hold about twenty-four startups, hoping to grow their businesses.

Budding entrepreneurs can take advantage of access to a network of professionals and participate in workshops.

Ellen Matis was the first applicant. She owns Hello Social, a startup that aims to help small businesses with social media and marketing strategies.

“As a new business owner, it’s kind of difficult to navigate all of the things that you have to do, so I think that the incubator can be an awesome opportunity for me to not only learn more about those things but to have some help along the way,” Matis said.

Centre County commissioner Mark Higgins said he’s wanted business incubators throughout the region for the past three years.

He played an influential role in the opening of the Philipsburg Business Incubator in May 2016.

“We get so excited about business incubators because being an entrepreneur and starting a small business is incredibly hard and it’s very risky,” Higgins said.

County leaders hope to attract more residents and entrepreneurs by having the incubator located in the downtown Bellefonte area.

SpringBoard is the sixth business incubator to open in Centre County.

More than three people applied to be tenants within the first ten minutes of the grand opening.