SBTC RECEIVES $85,000 GRANT TO SUPPORT SMALL AND EMERGING RURAL BUSINESSES
SBTC RECEIVES $85,000 GRANT TO SUPPORT SMALL AND EMERGING RURAL BUSINESSES
The Southside Business Technology Center (SBTC) has received an $85,000 Rural Business Enterprise Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide high-quality tangible management consulting services to rural, Southside Virginia businesses.
“This is great news for the SBTC and our clients,” commented Eva Doss, President & CEO of the SBTC. “The grant will allow the SBTC to maintain and further expand business consulting services that advance the economic growth of the Southside region.”
The Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program provides grants for rural projects that finance and facilitate development of small and emerging rural businesses help fund distance learning networks, and help fund employment related adult education programs. To assist with business development, RBEGs may fund a broad array of activities. The grant will allow the SBTC to serve private businesses which will employ 50 or fewer new employees and have less than $1 million in projected gross revenues.
The principal objective of the SBTC’s initiative is to achieve measurable economic development results by providing high-quality tangible management consulting services to rural, Southside Virginia businesses. “The economic transformation in Southside and diversification can only happen by further developing the region’s human infrastructure, technology infrastructure, competitiveness in economic development, and civic infrastructure,” explained Doss.
As the SBTC expands its ability to work with new and prospective businesses, the organization is continuing to pursue resources and opportunities that will allow the SBTC to grow its management and business consulting services for the region. “We hope this is the first of many announcements to support the economic transformation of our region as we focus on support for business start-ups and expansions,” Doss added.
The SBTC was created in 2005 to provide management/business consulting services to enable new business creation and existing industry transformation to the economy. The SBTC uses professional staff business analysts, student interns, and expert consultants to provide business consulting services for businesses in the areas of business plan and proposal development, feasibility studies, business start-up procedures, finding sources of capital, market research and analysis, financial analysis, operational analysis, and legal issues. The Center, during its operation has been instrumental in developing business skills among start-up and expansion businesses in Southside Virginia.
The SBTC currently operates offices in Martinsville and Danville. For more information about the SBTC, please visit the website at www.southsidebtc.org or email evadoss@southsidebtc.org.