Minneapolis is one of the most recent additions to a list of cities hoping to boost growth in its existing small businesses through the
Small Business Asministration's (SBA) e200 Emerging Leaders Initiative.
The program, administered locally by the
Minnesota office of the SBA, delivers 100 hours of training to selected small businesses, as well as mentoring, networking and connections with other businesses, city leaders and the financial community.
Classes begin April 18 and run bi-weekly through November, says Nancy Libersky, district director of the Minnesota office of the SBA. Libersky compared the "high-level, very-intense training" to an MBA worth $10,000 per student. Each company selected may send one executive-level employee ("CEO, CFO--one of the Cs," says Libersky).
Space is limited. Libersky did not say how many companies could participate, only that they have received some "excellent candidates." Minneapolis businesses that generate revenues between $400,000 and $10 million, and which have been in business for at least three years, are eligible.
Minneapolis is one of 17 urban-community participants around the country for fiscal year 2011. More than 600 small businesses have been through the program since its inception is 2008, according to an SBA press release.
The class will be led by a specialized trainer hired out of Washington, D.C. who will interview and train to learn the locality and specifics of the Minneapolis program, says Libersky. The SBA has eight local business, organization and municipal partners assisting in the initiative.
Source: Nancy Libersky, Minnesota Office of the Small Business Administration
Writer: Jeremy Stratton