With a launch scheduled for Wednesday, May 22, 2024 featuring remarks
by Los Angeles
Mayor Karen Bass, VSEDC's Women's
Business Center powered by Wells Fargo will offer coaching,
mentoring, networking, and more to help women entrepreneurs
thrive
LOS
ANGELES, May 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermont
Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC) announced today
that it has been selected as one of 17 new U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) Women's Business Centers. Powered by Wells
Fargo, the VSEDC Women's Business Center (WBC) will support women
entrepreneurs during every stage of their journey by providing free
coaching, mentorship, access to capital, business education, and
more. With an official launch scheduled for Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at VSEDC headquarters
including remarks by SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, VSEDC's WBC will be the first in the
history of South Los Angeles and
one of only 20 throughout California. As part of its mission
to drive economic growth, the WBC will also help women scale their
enterprises effectively and efficiently by focusing on expanding
through acquisitions.
"I have worked with Vermont Slauson Economic Development
Corporation for years and have seen firsthand the positive impact
the organization is making for small businesses and their
contributions to the South Los
Angeles community," said Mayor Bass. "Together with VSEDC
and organizations like it, we are working to open the city for
business and make sure that City Hall is an advocate, not a
barrier, to helping small businesses grow and thrive. I want to
thank the Small Business Administration for recognizing VSEDC with
this significant, very well-deserved distinction that reflects the
organization's proven commitment to supporting small businesses and
women-owned businesses in the community. I encourage women
entrepreneurs and business owners alike to visit the VSEDC to tap
into the coaching, mentoring, networking and resources available to
guide their business' growth and development. Together, we can
continue our work to help businesses succeed."
An institution dedicated to serving minority communities
offering one-on-one counseling, training, networking, workshops,
and technical assistance, VSEDC's WBC helps clients to focus on
strategic planning, financial management, marketing, procurement,
and more. Considering Black women are the fastest growing
demographic of entrepreneurs in the country, they
disproportionately lack access to capital while navigating the
traditional hurdles that start-ups face.
"We are thrilled to partner with SBA and Wells Fargo to provide
extraordinary resources that help women business owners excel,"
said Quentin Strode, President &
CEO of VSEDC. "With a history that spans more than four decades, we
understand the unique obstacles that women entrepreneurs face,
especially women of color who have been underserved and excluded
from comprehensive support that leads to generational wealth."
In response to women facing historic exclusion from
entrepreneurship, SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership is a
solution that empowers women entrepreneurs through advocacy,
outreach, education, and support. As a Community Development
Financial Institution that will create a lending pipeline, VSEDC
guides women from the margins of entrepreneurship into a realm
where they can scale to new heights.
"We are excited that through our collaboration with VSEDC, we
will bring the first SBA small business women's center to the
South Los Angeles area," said
Jack Olree, Vice President Community
Impact and Sustainability at Wells Fargo. "This will provide
emerging and established small business owners with the critical
tools and assistance needed for long-term growth and allow for our
local communities to thrive."
VSEDC welcomes interview requests and credential requests
for the official launch:
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 |
9:45 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation
1130 W. Slauson Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90044
ABOUT VSEDC
For more than four decades,
VSEDC has facilitated community development of the South Los
Angeles area by providing programs that revitalize the
physical, economic, and social life of the community. A
newly-designated Community Development Financial Institution
(CDFI), VSEDC has developed and implemented a comprehensive
approach to community economic development that includes
business development, access to capital, technical assistance and
training, residential housing, commercial, and industrial
development. Founded by the late Marva
Smith Battle-Bey in 1981, VSEDC works to create a
South Los Angeles with strong
neighborhoods and thriving communities. To learn more, please visit
www.vsedc.org.
ABOUT SBA
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps
power the American dream of business ownership. 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.
ABOUT WELLS FARGO
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading
financial services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets. We provide a diversified
set of banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as
well as consumer and commercial finance, through our four
reportable operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending,
Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth
& Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 47 on Fortune's 2023 rankings
of America's largest corporations. In the communities we serve, the
company focuses its social impact on building a sustainable,
inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small
business growth, financial health, and a low-carbon economy. News,
insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at
Wells Fargo Stories.
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SOURCE Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation