Women’s Business Center of WNC Opens

Attending the luncheon (L-R): Sharon Oxendine, Western NC Women’s Business Center Director, Vicki Lee Parker, Marketing Director, and Roberta McCullough, Vice President of Operations.  Photo: Urban News
Attending the luncheon (L-R): Sharon Oxendine, Western NC Women’s Business Center Director, Vicki Lee Parker, Marketing Director, and Roberta McCullough, Vice President of Operations. Photo: Urban News
by Johnnie Grant

The Support Center (TSC), a not-for-profit small business lender and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), announced the official launch of its Women’s Business Center of Western North Carolina (WBCW) on July 29th, 2014 during a luncheon held at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel.

Mayor Esther Manheimer, County Commissioner David Gantt, and State Senator Terry Van Duyn attended the opening along with State Legislators and business leaders from the greater Asheville region.

The WBCW’s mission is to provide high quality business training and development programs that reduce barriers and serve as a catalyst to the success of entrepreneurs, particularly women who are socially and economically disadvantaged in the Western region of North Carolina.

TSC will also provide loans to qualified women-owned businesses that seek services from the WBCW.

“The mission of the WBCW is a natural fit within TSC’s mission as it incorporates and extends the work we already do in providing training and technical assistance to not just women but all underserved markets in North Carolina,” says Lenwood V. Long, Sr., President/CEO.

“It also aligns and is similar to the mission of the national WBC program as that mission is to ‘level the playing field’ for women entrepreneurs who still face unique obstacles in the world of business,” says Long.

The WBCW will operate under the leadership of Sharon Oxendine, TSC’s Business Development Specialist, who also operated a previous WBC where she served 1,800 active clients and helped to start 900 businesses.

The WBCW will be housed at the TSC’s satellite office inside the headquarters of Eagle Market Streets Development Corporation (EMSDC) in Asheville, NC.

For more information about WBCW, please contact TSC at (919) 803-1437 or [email protected] or contact Sharon Oxendine at the local office by phoning (828) 785-1504.