8602426896?profile=originalThe Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) headquartered here has expanded its entrepreneurship programs and services to startup and emerging women business owners in DuPage, Kane, Will and Kendall counties. Its office in the Aurora Chamber of Commerce building at 43 W. Galena Blvd. in downtown Aurora houses the second Women’s Business Center in the State of Illinois. The first WBC in Illinois is located at WBDC headquarters, 8 S. Michigan Av., in Chicago.

The WBDC is supported by funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration and will officially launch with a reception on Wednesday, March 9, 5:30 – 8 p.m. at Two Brothers Roadhouse, 205 N. Broadway, Aurora. Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia will speak at the event.

The WBC office offers programs and services in Spanish and English with a focus on the following:

  • Access to Information. Comprehensive counseling and training on a range of topics (in person as well as online/on demand, in both English and Spanish).
  • Access to Contacts. The WBDC’s annual Early Childhood Education Entrepreneurship Expo, an annual Entrepreneurial Woman’s Conference, and many other networking events.
  • Access to Contracts. Procurement technical assistance and supplier diversity panels.
  • Access to Capital. Financial counseling, assistance with debt and equity placement, referrals to alternative sources of funding, and direct lending.

The WBDC has already been doing business in Aurora as one of eight members of the inaugural class of ScaleUp America contractors selected to assist the Small Business Administration in the delivery of targeted, cohort-based assistance to high-potential small businesses primed for growth beyond the early (nascent or emerging) stages. With its new Women’s Business Center program in Aurora, the WBDC can now serve a broader range of entrepreneurs and small businesses, adding early stage businesses to the client mix.

“The foundational purpose of the WBC Aurora is to advance the economic independence of women, with special attention given to the socially and economically disadvantaged,” said Emilia DiMenco, WBDC president and CEO. “Through their complementary relationship, the WBC Chicago and WBC Aurora will be able to provide services, including business counseling, entrepreneurial training, financing assistance, loan packaging, and Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) certification and procurement technical assistance for contracts.”

Robert Steiner, Illinois District Director of the Small Business Administration, said, “Businesses play a vital role in fueling the economy so assisting their growth and expansion is a significant way to buttress our economic foundation. Supporting and strengthening small businesses through this program being implemented by the WBDC is also a powerful way to help the socially and economically disadvantaged, particularly women and minorities, who have been and remain a vulnerable population.”

The WBDC is a 30-year-old non-profit that is nationally recognized in the field of economic development, providing programs and services to support and accelerate small business ownership, create jobs, fuel economic growth, and build strong communities. The WBDC hosts a Small Business Development Center, a Women’s Business Center Chicago, a Women’s Business Center Aurora, a Procurement Technical Assistance Center, a Veterans Business Outreach Center, a ScaleUp program in Aurora, and a Direct Lending Program.

To learn more about the WBDC, call 312.853.3477 or visit www.WBDC.org. More information about the Women’s Business Center Aurora is available on the website or by calling 630.896.3735.

FOR:                Women’s Business Development Center

 

CONTACT:      Chris Ruys, Chris Ruys Communications

                         (312) 337-7746 or chris@chrisruys.com

 

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