By Arkansas Press Association Paid News Distribution Service
Providing small and emerging business owners with the innovative skills, tools, and contacts needed to create and grow their enterprises and better engage in job creation activities are the goals of an upcoming business conference to be held in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Funded by the USDA Rural Development, and Arkansas Human Development Corporation (AHDC), the 2023 South Arkansas Rural Business Development Conference, with a theme of “Breaking Barriers: Engaging Minds, Empowering Success” will bring together approximately twenty (20) private, quasi-state, state, federal, non-profit, and national organizations to provide conference participants with needed resources to grow their existing business or develop new business endeavors.
Partners invited to participate include but are not limited to: Arkansas Capital Corporation, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services (ADWS), Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC), Arkansas APEX Accelerator, Small Business Administration (SBA), Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). The hybrid conference will be held Friday, September 8, 2023 from 8:30am – 2:00pm via Zoom. In-person participation will be limited to fifty (50) including presenters at conference site located at the Pine Bluff (Main) Library, 600 South Main Street, Pine Bluff, AR 71601. Topics will include but are not limited to: building effective partnerships, securing capital, selling goods and services to the government, social media and how to access the many business support services offered by the ASBTDC to start and grow your business.
Please join us at 8:30 am for a “Breakfast with the Lenders Roundtable,” where conference participants will network with local, regional and statewide lenders. Lenders invited to participate include but are not limited to: Arkansas Capital Corporation, FORGE, Relyance Bank, Simmons Bank, USDA Rural Development-Business and Cooperative Programs. The Lenders Roundtable will be facilitated by a representative of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Rev. Cory Anderson, Chief Innovation Officer, Winthrop Rockefeller foundation, will be the luncheon speaker.
Don’t miss the opportunity to help your community create needed small businesses and JOBS by acquiring the resources to help your small business grow and innovate.
An investment of time is the cost to attend but registration is encouraged.
You may register by calling Arkansas Human Development Corporation at (800) 482-7641, emailing dharrison@arhdc.org or online at https://t.ly/kaiVM