News Release Provided by SBA

Nationally, $5 Million Granted to Fund Training and Capacity Building Projects to Strengthen Entrepreneurial Efforts in Rural Areas and HubZones

DETROIT– Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women is set to receive a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepreneurs (PRIME).  With its PRIME award of $150,000, GROW will create new online training modules and platform with the help of a contracted instructional designer to better serve low-income rural clients on the Lakeshore and in Battle Creek who don’t have access to in-person services.

“The PRIME Grant is an important tool to help underserved communities access the capital that they need to grow their businesses and create jobs,” said Constance Logan, the SBA’s Michigan district director.

The SBA’s PRIME grants help low-income entrepreneurs gain access to capital to establish and expand their small businesses. Including GROW, this year’s 32 recipients in 24 states and the District of Columbia will receive grants ranging from $75,000 to $250,000, totaling $5 million. In total, 111 organizations applied for PRIME grants for 2018.  

“I’m very excited to learn that our organization has been awarded the PRIME Grant,” said Bonnie Nawara, CEO of GROW.  “This funding will enable us to expand our outreach efforts into diverse and rural markets while also expanding our programming.  The SBA has been and continues to be a great partner.”

The SBA placed special emphasis in this year’s competition on projects that will offer training and technical assistance to strengthen economically disadvantaged businesses, particularly those that service entrepreneurs in rural areas and HubZones. 

This year’s awards also emphasized organizations participating in the SBA’s Community Advantage Program.  This program provides mission-oriented, nonprofit lenders access to the SBA’s 7(a) loan guarantees to help small businesses that have outgrown microlending but are not able to access more traditional financing including funding from SBA commercial lending partners.  Eight Community Advantage Lenders were selected for PRIME grant awards.   

PRIME was created by Congress as part of the Program for Investment in the Micro-Entrepreneurs Act of 1999.  Grant funds will be made available on September 30, 2018, and the project period for each grant is one year. For more information on the SBA’s PRIME grants and for a list of this year’s grantees, go online to www.sba.gov/content/prime-grantees.

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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.