West Virginia Press Release Sharing
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Today community leaders and members of the public gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the West Virginia Women’s Business Center at the newly unveiled City Center at Slack Plaza.
While this ribbon cutting event marked the center’s official grand opening, the WV Women’s Business Center has been serving women and minorities across the Mountain State for 18 months, providing free online business training and one-on-one advising to over 2,000 program participants.
The WV Women’s Business Center is funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and hosted by Partner Community Capital, a small business loan fund that supports underserved communities in central Appalachia and the Southeast.
“The West Virginia Women’s Business Center is for anyone with a dream or an idea,” said Rebecca Cobourne, owner of Braids and Twists. “I had a dream, and through the support of the center, I was able to make it a reality.”
Nora Myers, executive director of the WV Women’s Business Center, also took the opportunity to announce the center’s recently launched Start, Scale, Succeed Mentorship Program, which facilitates one-to-one mentoring relationships connecting mentees with mentors across West Virginia to share entrepreneurship strategies and develop better business owners.
“Going it alone is always daunting, especially when it comes to starting your own small business,” said WV Women’s Business Center Executive Director Nora Myers. “Whether you want advice on accounting, marketing, personnel, or even just to bounce ideas off someone with more experience, having a mentor can make each critical step on your journey more confident, and more likely to reach success.”
With offices in Charleston, Morgantown, Fairmont, and soon Huntington, the WV Women’s Business Center offers free one-on-one advising services, a mentor pairing program, financial and capital advising, educational resources, and more.
Pictures of the event are available below with order of appearance in the group photo (photo 3) from left to right being, Delegate Kayla Young, Mayor Amy Goodwin, WVWBC Executive Director Nora Myers, Partner Community Capital President Marten Jenkins, WV District Director U.S. Small Business Administration Karen Friel, Braids and Twists Owner Rebecca Cobourne, WVWBC Board Member and Advisor Dawn Hylbert, WVWBC Staff Member Kristen Beverage, WVWBC Staff Member Hannah Fetty.
— The WV WBC serves all 55 of West Virginia’s counties and exists to support anyone with a dream or idea—regardless of their background, age, or previous experience—with the right tools to start, scale, and succeed in business. When women and people of color gain access to the tools necessary to create thriving businesses or to scale up their small businesses, local economies are strengthened, needs of communities are met, and opportunities are multiplied in West Virginia.
