The doors were officially opened for Business Service Centers at Southeast’s regional campuses in Sikeston, Malden and Kennett last fall.

The centers serve aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Bootheel. Small business owners receive one-on-one counseling and technical assistance as well as access to a host of services, including financial analysis and access to capital.

The Business Service Centers also provide opportunities for clients to meet with loan officers as part of ACCION Delta, providing microlending services in the 252 counties and parishes of the Delta Regional Authority.

In addition, the Business Service Centers will host Operation Jump-Start entrepreneurship training for aspiring entrepreneurs in the Bootheel.

Operation Jump-Start is a nationally recognized, hands-on, microenterprise development program designed to help entrepreneurs test the feasibility of their business ideas and launch new ventures. In the past five years, Operation JumpStart has assisted in the development of over 300 new businesses in Southeast Missouri.

“At a time when job creation is first and foremost, these additional service centers will create new business and sustain existing businesses and position them for growth in the future,” says Southeast President Kenneth W. Dobbins.

With the opening of these centers, Southeast began delivering its entrepreneurship minor at the regional campuses. The entrepreneurship minor is a 15-hour program designed for all majors and offers a unique learning experience for students from a variety of disciplines who share an interest in developing an entrepreneurial mindset.