For more information, contact:

Wendy Baumann

WWBIC President and Chief Visionary Officer

414-395-4530

wendy.baumann@wwbic.com

MILWAUKEE, WIS. - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Friday the opening of 17 new women's business centers across the country, including one in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) will open this center as its sixth regional office based out of northern Wisconsin.

"We're so grateful for our continued growth through SBA programs and support and thrilled to be opening a new women's business center," says Wendy K. Baumann, President and Chief Visionary Officer at WWBIC. "This will allow us to further work in partnership with our state’s tribal communities in the northern part of Wisconsin, bringing our training and technical assistance services closer to where the residents of these communities live and want to start or grow their small businesses."

WWBIC's sixth regional office in the state this center will open later this year. WWBIC’s current regional offices are located in Appleton, Kenosha and Racine, La Crosse, Madison, and Milwaukee, which also serves as WWBIC's statewide headquarters office.

"We have seen a historic Small Business Boom with women, especially women of color, filing new business applications at double the rates of men," said SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman in the SBA's press release. "The SBA’s expanding network of Women's Business Centers is meeting these new and established businesses where they are with resources to help them get funding to grow, create jobs, and strengthen our economy."

In the ensuing months, WWBIC will partner with other business and economic development organizations serving northern Wisconsin to pool resources and offer services through this new center as well as find an office location and hire staff before the new center officially opens.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

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 WWBIC

The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) is a leading statewide innovative economic development corporation that is “Putting Dreams to Work” by assisting micro enterprise & small businesses. They are AERIS rated and are one of Wisconsin’s first Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). WWBIC’s primary focus is on women, people of color, lower-wealth individuals, and veterans and military connected families. They open doors of opportunity by providing direct lending and access to fair and responsible capital, quality business training, one-on-one technical business assistance and coaching to increase financial wellness.

WWBIC has fiercely championed their mission by operating in five Wisconsin regions to offer services statewide, channeling its activities through three primary lines of business: small business lending (ranging from $1,000 to $350,000); technical assistance/coaching; and entrepreneurship and financial wellness training. Since 1987, WWBIC has served 72,709 individuals and loaned $107 million to small business owners. Their technical and capital support has created or retained 18,027 jobs with 9,009 businesses started, strengthened, or expanded. To learn more about WWBIC visit: www.wwbic.com.

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