Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. plans to open a new women’s entrepreneurship center in Appleton to serve the northeast region of the state, aided by new funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The center will be located in an in-kind office space at an Associated Bank branch at 1195 N. Casaloma Drive in Appleton.
“We are thrilled to have another funded site that allows us to open physical offices, which we still believe is very helpful in working in markets,” said Wendy Baumann, president of WWBIC.
WWBIC has had a virtual employee, Tim Majcen, in the Fox Valley for several years. He will be based out of the new office, along with two employees yet to be hired: a full-time regional project director and a part-time programming and administrative support position.
The SBA’s Women’s Business Centers provide mentorship and resources to women entrepreneurs seeking to start or grow a business. The Appleton location is one of nine new centers nationwide the SBA announced today. It now has more than 100 centers, which provide counseling, training, networking, workshops, technical assistance and mentoring on topics like marketing, procurement and financial management.
WWBIC was one of the first Women’s Business Centers in the country when it was established in 1987. Its existing locations are in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Madison. The nonprofit organization provides services to entrepreneurs statewide.
“WWBIC has served thousands of minority and low-income small business clients throughout their 31-year history,” said Frank Demarest, deputy district director for SBA Wisconsin. “They have received national recognition from the SBA many times for their high-impact work. The new location in Appleton will be a great benefit to entrepreneurs in the Fox Cities area and northeastern Wisconsin.”
