“Our partnership with the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce will enable the RISBDC to expand its outreach to the small business community and provide a convenient downtown location where existing and prospective business owners can take advantage of our services,” said Edward Huttenhower, RISBDC Executive State Director.
“We welcome the RISBDC and feel that its services will help to further the Chamber’s work of promoting business growth in the state by connecting companies with the tools and resources they need to thrive,” said GPCC President Laurie White.
An RISBDC business counselor will be onsite at the GPCC every Wednesday, offering no-cost, one-on-one, confidential business counseling. Appointments can be scheduled during the GPCC’s regular office hours of 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. by calling Dennis McCarthy, RISBDC Providence Metro Regional Director, at 401-474-6998. The RISBDC provides counseling in both English and Spanish; Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs should request an appointment with the bilingual business counselor.
Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and supported by the University of Rhode Island and CommerceRI, the RISBDC is part of a national network of Small Business Development Centers with over 1,000 locations across the country employing approximately 5,000 certified business counselors. In addition to its expert, no-cost, business counseling services, the RISBDC provides high quality training programs on relevant topics at no or low cost.
The RISBDC, which is based at the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus, has service centers in Kingston and at CommerceRI in Providence. Additional outreach sites are located at the Central Rhode Island Chamber, Warwick; Newport County Chamber, Middletown; Ocean Community Chamber, Westerly; East Bay Chamber, Warren; and in Lincoln. For further information, call 401-874-7232 or visit the RISBDC website.