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WVU Women’s Business Center is open for business

From left to right are Laura Maas, Program Manager  Office of Women's Business Ownership- Small Business Administration, Andrea McCardle, Director, WVU Women's Business Center, Melinda Walls, Assistant Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at WVU, Karen Friel, District Director, Small Business Administration WV District Office, and Kim Donahue District Office Technical Representative and Small Business Administration Development Specialist for Southern WV.

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Entrepreneurs from the community now have a resource at West Virginia University to guide them through the process of starting their own business. The WVU Women’s Business Center offers services including one-on-one counseling, networking events, training workshops and technical assistance on topics including business fundamentals, financial management, marketing and procurement.

The WBC also connects entrepreneurs with services such as prototyping and financing.

“As the land-grant institution in the state, West Virginia University is deeply committed to seeing our communities thrive economically, both now and for years to come,” said WBC Director Andrea McCardle. “The West Virginia University Women’s Business Center will be the only such Center in the state and the first to open its doors in three years. Our center provides services to entrepreneurs of any gender at all stages of business development. We are excited to play a part in transforming the state’s economy through the growth of small businesses.”

McCardle was named the director of the center in December after a regional search. She previously worked for the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design as an adjunct professor.

Nationwide, WBCs train nearly 150,000 women annually, an important number given that, according to recent U.S. Census data, there are 9.8 million women-owned businesses in the U.S. collectively employing more than eight million workers and generating more than $1.4 trillion in revenues. Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the WVU WBC will serve as an important part of WVU’s campus-wide ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives.

The WVU WBC formal ribbon-cutting was held February 9. The Center is located in Room 413, Evansdale Crossing.

For additional information on the programs and resources available at the West Virginia University Women’s Business Center, or to request an appointment, contact Andrea McCardle amccardl@mail.wvu.edu or 304.293.8206.

-WVU-

am/ac/02/10/17

CONTACT: Andrea McCardle; Director, Women’s Business
Center 304.293.8206; amccardl@mail.wvu.edu

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