Women's Business Center Opens in South Carolina

The South Carolina Women's Business Center has opened its doors and already has 30 customers, the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) recently announced. Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., the Women's Business Center will focus on serving only manufacturing facilities in 2003 but will add services to other types of businesses in 2004.

More than 64,000 existing women-owned businesses in South Carolina figure to benefit from the center, which will provide such services as business start-up assistance, marketing, training and access to financing. The center also will collaborate with other organizations including Small Business Development Centers.

Almost 85 percent of women-owned firms are sole proprietorships, compared to about 73 percent for all businesses, according to recent data released by the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy. SBA established the Women's Business Center Program in 1988, and in late 2002, SCMEP applied for and was awarded a 5-year grant to fund its center. Today, nearly 100 centers nationwide are funded by more than 80 grants.

SCMEP is a nonprofit organization that help manufacturers solve business and supply chain process problems. More information on the Women's Business Center is available at http://www.scwbc.org.