Einstein’s Alley, a member of the NJIEA Coalition, seeks nominations for the 5th Annual New Jersey Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards. The awards will be presented on September 13 at the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce/Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce Global Opportunities Summit at the Doubletree Hotel in Princeton.

In New Jersey, foreign-born individuals like 2014 winner Mario Casabona, CEO of Tech Launch; 2015 winner Iftekhar Hossain, of IH Engineering; and 2016 winner Jose “Pepe” Garcia, of Maverick Building Services have created more than one in three new businesses in recent years, ranking New Jersey behind California, New York, and Florida. New Jersey companies started by immigrants generate an annual business income of $6.2 billion.

NJIEA is a coalition of New Jersey groups, including regional and bi-national chambers of commerce, immigrant advocacy groups, and other community organizations joining to celebrate the important role of immigrants in today’s economy and to honor the contributions of immigrant business leaders to their communities.

This year, immigrants will be honored for their achievements in growth, advocacy, and innovation, and the organization will name the 2017 Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year. The deadline for nominations is July 14. Visit www.princetonchamber.net/njiea for more information.