(MENAFN- GlobeNewsWire - Nasdaq) Funding Establishes First WBC in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Adds Support for 17 Existing WBCs and Specific Grants for Childcare Enterprises and Government Contracting

WASHINGTON, Jan. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman , head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden's Cabinet for America's more than 34 million small businesses, awarded $26.25 million to create 13 new Women's Business Centers (WBC) and support 17 existing WBCs across America, expanding SBA's network of WBCs to 168 and the total grants to 185, the largest numbers in program history. This investment also is the first time the SBA awarded grants to provide specialized services for childcare enterprises, support government contracting efforts for women-owned small businesses, and develop national virtual trainings for women across the country.

“In the last four years, women have powered a generational Small Business Boom, filing new business applications at double the rate, and the Biden-Harris Administration is expanding the network of Women's Business Centers to record highs to serve them,” said SBA Administrator Guzman. “I am proud of the SBA's larger footprint, virtual capacity, and our leveraging of this new scale to specialize in areas of critical importance to our economy, including childcare businesses and women in government contracting. When we invest in women, our economy wins.”

In addition to this funding, the SBA also announced a collection of resources to support entrepreneurs that want to start, sustain, or expand their childcare business development. Later this year, the SBA will launch a new MySBA Learning journey dedicated to childcare businesses to complement the expanded in-person services delivered through the WBC network.

Today, the SBA awarded 35 WBC grants to 30 existing and new organizations in three categories. These included 16 awards to support entrepreneurs with starting and expanding childcare businesses , 13 awards focused on government contracting to assist entrepreneurs with obtaining government contracts and related certifications, and six core service awards to provide general entrepreneurial development services, including expanded and/or virtual services to reach rural and underserved communities.

Among the grantees, there are:

• Seventeen existing WBCs receiving 22 grants to support expansion and specialization of services including nine grants to WBCs focused on government contracting, 10 focused on childcare, two for expansion into rural communities and one to provide core services through a nationwide virtual WBC. This marks the first time the SBA issued WBCs multiple awards for distinct services and represents an investment in high-performing WBCs to expand their capacity.
• Thirteen new WBCs to help women entrepreneurs pivot, grow, and navigate SBA resources to ensure their businesses thrive.
• Four organizations to provide nationwide virtual support to women entrepreneurs in unique areas, including rural areas not currently served by a WBC, childcare business development, and cooperative business enterprise support. This is the first time SBA has funded a virtual-first WBC. These four organizations are noted with an asterisk (*) in the chart below.
• One organization in the U.S. Virgin Islands that represents the first SBA-funded WBC supporting the community.

The SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership oversees the WBCs and since early 2021, more than 50 have been added to the network to help women entrepreneurs start and grow small businesses and compete in a marketplace where they still face obstacles. The WBCs offer one-on-one counseling, training, networking, workshops, technical assistance, and mentoring on numerous business development topics, including business startups, financial management, marketing, and procurement.

Women's Business Center Grant Recipients

State/Territory	Grantee	Grant Focus	Current or New
Alabama	Catalyst Center*	Government contracting	Current
Arizona	Southwest Human Development Council YWCA Southern Arizona	Childcare Childcare	New Current
California	International Rescue Committee (Oakland)	Childcare	New
Connecticut	Women's Business Development Council*	Childcare, core, government contracting	Current
Florida	Broward County Black Chamber of Commerce Foundation	Government contracting	New
Georgia	Georgia Microenterprise Network Atlanta Black Chambers Foundation	Government contracting Government contracting	New New
Illinois	Women's Business Development Center	Government contracting	Current
Iowa	Iowa Center for Economic Success	Core	Current
Maine	Coastal Enterprises	Childcare	Current
Massachusetts	Center for Women & Enterprise	Government contracting (two grants)	Current
Michigan	Camp Fire West Michigan (Vibrant Futures) Lean Rocket Lab	Childcare Government contracting	New New
Montana	Zero to Five Foundation	Childcare	New
Nebraska	Center for Rural Affairs	Childcare, core	Current
New Hampshire	Cooperatives for a Better World (Start.COOP)*	Core	New
New Mexico	Women's Economic Self-Sufficiency Team	Childcare	Current
New York	Business Outreach Center Network	Childcare, government contracting	Current
North Dakota	Women and Technology	Childcare	Current
Ohio	Economic & Community Development Institute	Government contracting	Current
Oklahoma	Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma	Government contracting	Current
Texas	Better Business Bureau (Austin)	Core	New
U.S. Virgin Islands	Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands	Core	New
Utah	Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce	Childcare	Current
Virginia	George Mason University Instructional Foundation EO Companies	Childcare Childcare	Current New
Washington	Seattle Economic Development Fund	Government contracting	Current
Washington, D.C.	National Association of Family Child Care*	Childcare	New
Wisconsin	Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation	Childcare	Current

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit .

CONTACT: SBA HQ Press Team U.S. Small Business Administration ...

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