SCMEP Announces Opening of Women's Business Center to Benefit South Carolina's Women-Owned Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs
COLUMBIA, SC - March 31, 2003 - The South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) announces today the opening of the South Carolina Women's Business Center, headquartered in Columbia. In late 2002, SCMEP applied for and was awarded a 5-year grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration funding the opening and development of a Women's Business Center to help South Carolina's women entrepreneurs by providing a wide range of resources, including business start-up assistance, marketing, training, and access to financing. The Center is the only one in the country providing assistance to businesswomen to start and improve manufacturing companies, and assists in prototyping products and processes.
The Center opens it doors with 30 customers in various parts of South Carolina. There are more than 64,000 existing women-owned businesses in South Carolina. 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. The Center will collaborate with other organizations, such as the S.C. Export Consortium, The Center for Women, the technical college system, Small Business Development Centers, and the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).
"Encouraging more women to become entrepreneurs needs to be a priority in our state," says First Lady Jenny Sanford. "Grants like this one enable us to help cultivate the resources we have in South Carolina so we're more competitive economically."
"Our focus on helping women-owned manufacturing companies makes us unique," says John Irion, SCMEP president. "SCMEP has been helping South Carolina's manufacturers realize greater profitability for15 years, and our manufacturing specialists on staff average 20 years of practical factory-floor experience. We are tailoring this expertise specifically for the needs of women, ensuring that new companies will spring up to enhance our economic base."
"The South Carolina Women's Business Center will fill a great need in our state, and it could not come at a better time," says Diane Bagwell, chair of the Advisory Board of Directors for SCWBC. "The Board of Directors for the Center is comprised of outstanding women and men from across the state who are already sharing their knowledge and experience with women eager to get involved in manufacturing. With the expertise of SCMEP and the resources of our other partners, there is no doubt that there will be many new opportunities for women in manufacturing in the state."
In 1988, in response to women's business organizations insisting more needed to be done to help women overcome the barriers to success, the U.S. Small Business Administration established the Women's Business Center Program. Today there are nearly 100 women's business centers nationwide funded by more than 80 grants.
Women-owned manufacturers in South Carolina who are interested in learning more about the Center and its services should contact Haidee Stith of SCMEP at 803.461.8900 or hstith@scmep.org. More information is also available on the web at www.scwbc.org.
About SCMEP
The South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP), headquartered in Columbia, SC, is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on helping manufacturers throughout the state by solving business and supply chain process problems. Supported by the state legislature and an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), SCMEP offers business and technology assessments, engineering expertise and lean manufacturing solutions to South Carolina manufacturers in search of a single solution for supply chain synchronization and internal optimization processes. SCMEP provides this business and technology support to manufacturers through onsite consultations, partnerships with state technical colleges and research universities to provide educational programs, online assessment, an e-services portal, and other business tools. Using SCMEP's services enables manufacturers to see business benefits at a faster rate and enhances economic development in South Carolina. To learn more about SCMEP, call 803.252.6976 or visit the web site at http://www.scmep.org.
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