Project
Arkansas Women’s Business Center
America’s small businesses have always been an engine for innovation and job creation. In Winrock’s home state of Arkansas, women-owned small businesses have been growing at a rate 1.5 times faster than the national average. Through the Arkansas Women’s Business Center (AWBC), Winrock is helping fuel that trend by providing thousands of hours of training and the sort of access to markets and capital that entrepreneurs need to grow their companies.
Funder: U.S. Small Business Administration
Project Timeline: September 30, 2010
Country: United States
Program Areas: Entrepreneurship, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, U.S. Programs , Market Systems and Access to Finance
Contacts: Chauncey Holloman Pettis, Chauncey.Pettis@winrock.org and Shay Kaldem, SKaldem@winrock.org
AWBC is committed to providing technical assistance, training, and access to capital services tailored to meet the needs of women business owners. The Center is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. It is in a network of over 100 Centers located through the nation.
Winrock’s staff and team of professional consultants provide the following technical and financial assistance to women entrepreneurs:
- Assist interested companies to ensure disadvantages entrepreneurs receive support
- Assess current client capabilities
- Provide opportunities to participate in training activities
- Provide business plan development support
- Develop market feasibility studies
- Provide mentoring assistance
- Enhance links to capital investments
- Locate federal, state, and local funding assistance
Computers are available for clients to prepare business documents, access online information, and participate in online training activities.
The AWBC is located on the South Arkansas Community College campus at 404 South West Avenue, El Dorado, Arkansas.
The Arkansas Women’s Business Center is available from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. The Arkansas Women’s Business Center is available from 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday. Evening and weekend counseling sessions available by appointment only. Session may be held in-person or virtually via phone and Microsoft Teams. Our office is closed all federal holidays.
For more information about the Arkansas Women’s Business Center contact Chauncey Holloman Pettis at (501) 280-3088 or chauncey.pettis@winrock.org.
Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least a week in advance. WBC’s programs and services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance service for clients with limited English proficiency will be provided if requested at least a week in advance.
Momentum
Momentum provided 10 minority woman-owned businesses with professional development training, mentorship and $500 in seed funding for business development.
AWBC Cares
The opportunity for supplemental CARES Act funds will bolster AWBC’s capacity to reach all of those requesting assistance, and it will enable the AWBC to cast a wider net to reach small business owners who are often overlooked or unaware that such assistance exists.
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