Small Business Workshop Set For Sept. 18 at Pine Bluff

PINE BLUFF - Providing small and emerging businesses in rural communities with the innovative skills, tools, and contacts needed to visualize creative pathways to grow their enterprises and better engage in job creation activities are the goals of an upcoming regional rural business conference to be held Sept. 18 in Pine Bluff. Funded by the Arkansas Human Development Corporation (AHDC) and USDA Rural Development, with support from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), University of Arkansas at Little Rock-Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (UALR-ASBTDC), University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), the 2025 South Central Arkansas Rural Business Development Conference, with a theme of “Revitalizing Rural Communities: Pathways to Business Growth and Success”, will bring together approximately 15 private, quasi-state, state, federal and non-profit organizations to provide participants with needed resources to start new businesses, grow their existing businesses and support their local communities.Confirmed and/or invited partners include Arkansas APEX Accelerator, City of Pine Bluff; Jefferson County; Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce; UALR-ASBTDC; SBA; and more. The conference will be held on Thursday, Sept. 18, from 8:30 am – 2:00 pm via Zoom and in-person. In-person participation is limited to seventy-five (75) at the conference site, which is Pine Bluff Main Library, 600 S. Main Street, Pine Bluff, AR 71601. Topics to be covered include but are not limited to building strategic partnerships; evaluating and securing capital; obtaining technical assistance for your small business; and selling goods and services to the government and corporate sectors.Those interested are invited to attend a “Breakfast with the Lenders Roundtable” at 8:30 a.m. where conference participants will network with local, regional, and statewide lenders.Current lenders confirmed and/or invited to participat...