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News Articles | News
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Program to Assist Small Businesses
The
San Mateo County Times
June 07, 2001
By Clair A. McDevitt
Staff Writer
EAST PALO ALTO - A barber shop that operates out of a Winnebago,
a coffee shop called the Latte Dah Cafe and a woman who makes
dolls will be among the 15 small businesses to receive funding,
equipment and support through the second phase of the Hewlett-Packard
Digital Village program.
The Small Business Development Institute, launched Wednesday,
will provide $675,000 in grant money, technological support
and computer equipment for 15 businesses in its pilot program,
with the goal of having 75 businesses involved by next spring.
The initiative will help small-business owners in different
stages of development create viable businesses that will contribute
to the city's economy.
"We have determined early on that we wanted to have businesses
that are supported and give back to the city of East Palo Alto,"
said Dr. Faye McNair-Knox, executive director of Start Up, a
local "small-business incubator" non-profit agency.
McNair-Knox said the businesses were chosen to participate in
the SBDI based on their potential for success, business ideals
and ethnic diversity.
Members of the SBDI will be required to complete two training
seminars a year during the three-year program. Business owners
will also have to fill out data forms and keep contact information
current to maintain possession of the desktop computer and printer
given to each business.
The SBDI goal is for 30 percent of its businesses to be successful
at the end of the three-year period and beyond.
"The national average is about 10 to 20 percent," McNair-Knox
said. "We have been very bold about projecting a 30 percent
survival rate."
"I'm incredibly excited about this initiative," said HP e-Inclusion
Executive Janiece Evans-Page. "The businesses have a high degree
of potential for success."
The city established focus areas when the Digital Village program
was first launched, and Evans-Page said the city's goals, especially
in economic development, mesh perfectly with the new SBDI program,
which will provide more businesses to contribute to the city's
economy.
© 1999-2001 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers |
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Start Up EPA
1395 Bay Road
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Ph: (650) 321-2193 | Fax: (650) 321-1025
info@startupepa.org
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