The Small Business Administration is offering $30 million in grant funding for Women’s Business Centers, with plans to open a new center in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Eligible organizations can receive up to $150,000 to establish and operate a Women’s Business Center. Currently, there are 152 in-person Women’s Business Centers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. For the first time, organizations that provide virtual counseling and training services to women-owned small businesses will also be eligible for the grants.
The grant funding will be awarded in four areas, including supporting women business owners in government contracting, offering entrepreneurial development services to women-owned small businesses focused on child care services, providing general entrepreneurial development services to women in areas where centers currently don’t exist, and supporting the opening of a Women’s Business Center in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Christina Hale, Assistant Administrator for the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership, emphasized the importance of new centers in providing opportunities for women entrepreneurs to receive training and assistance to grow their businesses. Those with questions about the grants can contact the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership at owbo@sba.gov, which was established by executive order in 1979.