Women’s Business Development Center Celebrates it’s Women Vetrepreneurship Program


The Women’s Business Development Center (WBDC) will celebrate the first anniversary of its Women Vetrepreneurship Program.

In a partnership with The PrivateBank, the WBDC is launching “Back to Basics: Building Your Business Boot Camp”

Participants will “exercise their entrepreneurial muscle” in sessions that cover business plan development, marketing research, pricing strategies and financial requirements, according to Nicole Mandeville, a Desert Storm Army veteran who is director of the WBDC’s Women Vetrepreneurship Program (WVP).

At the event, women veterans will have the opportunity to sign up for a free, 16-week “basic training” program to help them take a business concept from dream to reality.

“Every start-up needs a base map, a tool to build and sustain a viable operation,” Mandeville said. “The WBDC ‘Back to Basics’ boot camp will provide participants with valuable tools to help graduates launch a business that serves as a pathway to economic security, independence and empowerment.”

The B2B training series functions as the entrepreneurial arm of the WVP designed specifically for women veterans and sponsored by The PrivateBank. The PrivateBank will operate and manage a microloan fund specifically for the B2B program graduates, as well as provide content advisors and mentors to participants. The bank will offer loans of up to $10,000 for start-ups and a maximum of $25,000 for qualifying existing business.

“The PrivateBank is proud to work with the WBDC to help our veterans realize their dreams of starting a new business,” saidTom Doherty, Head of Small Business Banking at The PrivateBank. “We know the important difference these businesses can make in their communities and the role good basic training plays in helping these entrepreneurs to succeed.”

A kick-off celebration will be held at the Pritzker Military Library and Museum, 104 S. Michigan Avenue, on Wednesday, February 5, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. More information is available at www.WBDC.org or by calling (312) 853-3477, ext. 410.

 


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