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COLUMBIA, SC – July 7, 2005 – The South Carolina Women’s Business Center (SCWBC) (www.scwbc.org) announced today it has been chosen as one of 17 organizations nationwide to take part in the MicroCatalyst! program, a new program that helps non-profit organizations increase services to low-income entrepreneurs. The program is run by Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, Inc. (WEB, Inc.) and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO). SCWBC will receive about $12,000 in free assessment and technical services, which in turn will help it build its microenterprise development services for entrepreneurs statewide.
MicroCatalyst! has four parts in which SCWBC will participate: - Initial site assessment by WEB, Inc.;
- National leadership forum with networking opportunities with the other 16 participating organizations;
- Personal coach who will work with SCWBC’s executive director; and
- Technical assistance as needed.
“In the three years since we’ve been building this program [SCWBC], we recognized there are virtually no South Carolina lending programs specifically to help microenterprises,” says Haidee Stith, executive director of the S.C. Women’s Business Center. “Most of our start-up clients fall into that category, so we see a great need for these resources.” Microenterprises, defined as very small companies, are the majority of SCWBC’s clients who often are seeking less than $35,000 to start or expand their businesses. According to WEB, Inc., SCWBC was selected because providing microenterprise development services to South Carolina companies is part of its primary mission, including helping customers secure funding through organizations such as the U.S. Small Business Administration. WEB Consulting Services has more than 15 years of hands-on experience as a practitioner microenterprise development agency through its parent organization, Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, Inc. (www.webinc.org). Founded in 2000, the mission of WEB Consulting Services is to build capacity and strengthen microenterprise programs across the nation and around the globe. Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) is the national association of organizations committed to microenterprise development. AEO provides its members with a forum, information, and a voice to promote enterprise opportunity for people and communities with limited access to economic resources. SCWBC is funded with a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration and has partnerships with state technical colleges, research universities and its affiliate – the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP). SCWBC was formed by SCMEP (www.scmep.org) to assist the more than 128,000 existing women-owned businesses in South Carolina, as well as new female-owned ventures. SCMEP, headquartered in Columbia, SC, is a not-for-profit organization that helps manufacturers throughout the state solve business and supply chain process problems.
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Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The SC Women's Business Center is a program of the SC Manufacturing Extension Partnership, with management, oversight and support provided by SCMEP and its resources.