GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center grand opening set for May 12

Omaha, NE – Nebraska’s entrepreneurial resource community has a brand-new member joining the group: the GROW Nebraska Women’s Business Center (GNWBC). In January of 2021, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced grant funding for the historic launch of 20 new Women’s Business Centers (WBC) across America to serve rural, urban, and underserved communities. The GNWBC was among those that were funded and will focus its efforts within the Greater Omaha Metro Area. Leon Milobar, District Director for the SBA Nebraska District Office, states, “This is a tremendous opportunity to provide the training, technical support and mentoring for women looking to go into business. With the Center opening, we hope to encourage and support more women looking to start and grow their businesses.”

The GNWBC has been a partnership effort between the GROW Nebraska Foundation, the Metro Omaha Women’s Business Center, and the Nebraska Enterprise Fund. Janell Anderson Ehrke, founder and CEO of GROW Nebraska, has been an integral part of bringing the new WBC to Omaha. “The GROW Nebraska Foundation is so excited for the opening of our SBA Women’s Business Center, which will help us better provide assistance and resources to entrepreneurs and help grow small businesses in the Omaha area. Thanks to our resource partners, we will be able to launch our women’s business center right into action. Now more than ever, we need to help businesses realign themselves so that they can thrive in our new normal.”

Candice Price, Omaha local entrepreneur, heads up the GNWBC as the Executive Director. “As a woman business owner, I am thrilled for the expansion of the Women’s Business Center into Omaha, Nebraska, and for the great plans we have in store, including programming and training as well as additional resources for those in business; but most of all, I am excited for the chance to provide additional sources for access to capital which has been one of the major disparities when it comes to women owned businesses,” she states. Candice is no stranger to the challenges faced by women business owners – she owns two businesses in Omaha, Home Team Auto Sales and Sapphire Grill. She is excited to bring that expertise to the new WBC. “I look forward to working within the community to help in the professional development and growth of our women business owners and hope that our small contribution will make a large and lasting positive impact on the Nebraska business landscape.” GNWBC is planning an open house/ribbon cutting event on May 12 at their new Omaha location: 5190 Sprague Plaza, Suite 216. For more information, please contact GNWBC at 402-300-8170.

SBA’s Women’s Business Centers are a national network of 136 centers that offer one-on-one counseling, training, networking, workshops, technical assistance, and mentoring to women entrepreneurs on numerous business development topics, including business startup, financial management, marketing, and procurement. Nebraska’s Rural Enterprise Assistance Project Women’s Business Center (REAP WBC) serves the state outside of Omaha.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more visit www.sba.gov.

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