The 2022 Southeast Arkansas Small Business Development Conference scheduled for July 15

Conference will be held on Zoom with a small audience at Dermott City Hall

By the Arkansas Delta Informer Staff – July 4, 2022 — Emerging and small business owners in Southeast Arkansas will have an opportunity during an upcoming conference to network, learn to grow their operations, and create new jobs in rural Delta communities.

Funded by the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services (ADWS), the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development division, and the Arkansas Human Development Corporation (AHDC), the 2022 Southeast Arkansas Small Business Development Conference will be held Friday, July 15, 2022, from 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The conference will be held virtually on Zoom with a small on-site audience in Dermott. Up to 40 participants, including some presenters and preferably those who’ve received one of the COVID-19 vaccines, will be able to participate from a physical location in the Dermott City Hall at 211 E Iowa St. Social distancing, temperature checks, masks, and release forms will be required, officials said.

According to organizers, the conference will bring together approximately 20 private, quasi-state, state, federal, non-profit, and national organizations with a singular focus on equipping existing and aspiring entrepreneurs with the resources to start and grow their businesses. Current and new business owners, youth entrepreneurs, business and technical school students, apprentices, veterans, faith-based leaders, and community and economic development professionals are invited to the conference.

Topics will include building strategic relationships, exploring and securing the right kind of capital, how to sell goods and services to the government, the basics of personal finance, and services provided by ASBTDC to begin and enhance local businesses.

Attendees will also engage with other business owners, receive help with research and business planning, learn how to increase their networking results, and learn to do more business with the government and private industry.

The conference will kick off at 8:30 a.m. for a “Breakfast with the Lenders Roundtable,” where participants will network with local, regional, and statewide lenders. Those financial institutions invited to the conference include the Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, Bank of Lake Village, Commercial Bank of Monticello, Communities Unlimited, First Service Bank, FORGE, RMI Inc., and the USDA’s Rural Development Business & Industry loan program.

The roundtable will be facilitated by Jerry Talbert, deputy district director of the SBA’s Arkansas District Office in Little Rock. Quanika Jackson, CEO of Platinum Investments Groups Inc., will deliver the luncheon address.

Those interested in attending the conference can by calling AHDC at 1-800-482-7641 or (501) 374-1103, ext. 10, by signing up online at https://bit.ly/3A3jaOn (case sensitive).

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