By RYAN SKAITH
Missouri Western State University has launched a regional Small Business Development Center to support small-business growth across northwest Missouri.
The university received a contract from the Small Business Administration to provide SBDC services to the region. Rebecca Lobina, Missouri Western’s director of workforce development, will lead the center.
The center will also offer students and faculty increased access to real-world learning opportunities.
Funded by the SBA with local matching funds, SBDCs provide free counseling and training to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. These services support both startups and the expansion of existing companies.
The center will work alongside the university’s Craig School of Business, the Center for Workforce Development, and the Houlne Center for Convergent Technology to bolster the region’s economy.
Lobina, who joined the university in April, previously led the regional SBDC for nearly 20 years. She said she expects high demand for the center’s services, which cover everything from initial business concepts to succession planning.
“St. Joseph and northwest Missouri has an active entrepreneurship community, and that community is hungry for the services that a local SBDC provides,” Lobina said. She noted that the center has historically served up to 200 businesses annually. Services began Jan. 1.
