Women's Business Ownership Act turns 20

The bill, also called House Resolution 5050, created numerous SBA agencies, including the Office of Women’s Business Ownership, the Women’s Business Center and the National Women’s Business Council.

“I am proud of how the SBA has supported the objectives of the Women’s Business Ownership Act, especially through the Women’s Business Center program and the National Women’s Business Council,” said SBA Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah in a news release.

The Women’s Business Center promoted growth of women-owned businesses by providing business training and technical assistance, helping with access to credit and capital, and identifying federal contract and trade opportunities. More than 148,000 people received business counseling and training through the program in fiscal 2007.

“Women are not only among the most successful and important entrepreneurs today, they represent some of the greatest promise for tomorrow,” SBA Deputy Administrator Jovita Carranza said in the statement, noting that the program has grown from four demonstration sites in 1988 to more than 100 today.  The nearest Women’s Business Center to Springfield is in Kansas City.