Officials Laud New Greenwood Women’s Business Center – Tulsa World

A total of 80% of the businesses in two Greenwood Chamber of Commerce buildings are led by women, with close to 30 companies generating more than $5 million annually for Tulsa’s economy, Greenwood Chamber President and CEO Freeman Culver III said.

“My two little girls are now telling me wife, `Mommy, I want to be an entrepreneur,'” he said. “I want to be like like those women on Greenwood …”

Reaching that goal soon will be easier.

U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Greenwood Chamber spoke Wednesday about plans for the Greenwood Women’s Business Center. A total of 5,000 square feet of second-floor space at 121 N. Greenwood Ave. will be dedicated to the project, which is expected to be completed in March.

A 15,000-square-foot, second phase also has been proposed.

“We’re making this reality,” Culver said at a news conference at the Greenwood Cultural Center. “This is going to be one of the best things that ever happened to this community.”

The business center will offer one-on-one counseling, training, networking, workshops, technical assistance and mentoring to women entrepreneurs on numerous business development topics, including business startup, financial management, marketing and procurement.

“(Wednesday’s) announcement in partnership with the U.S. Black Chamber, the Greenwood Black Chamber and the U.S. Small Business Administration will allow us to make sure that our businesses, both owned by people of color and women, have the information that they need to have sustainability to grow their communities, as well as their businesses,” said Ron Busby Sr., president and CEO of the USBC.

In June, President Joe Biden visited Tulsa to visit communities that have been left behind by failed policies and announce new steps to help narrow the racial wealth gap — including a commitment to use the federal government’s purchasing power to grow federal contracting with small disadvantaged businesses by 50%, translating to an additional $100 billion over five years.

The SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership funds 140 branches across the country, said Natalie Madeira Cofield, assistant administrator for the SBA.

“The mission and mandate of this office, which was established in 1979, is to ensure that women have an equitable seat at the table, and that’s what we’re doing,” she said. “… Every year we work with nearly 80,000 women, who are doing everything from starting businesses at their kitchen tables to hopefully, establishing the next Fortune 500 business. We believe in all of them.”