Alaska Small Business Development Center

June Update from the Alaska SBDC Executive Director

June 3, 2024

Like many small businesses we serve, the Alaska SBDC has had an extremely busy summer so far!

Ruth on our rural team has been traveling to communities across the state, helping rural entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

Carlos and the AI Resource Center have been meeting with organizations from other states, including Wisconsin Governor’s office representatives, to help them learn how the Alaska SBDC has become one of the country’s leading AI business development programs.

The Alaska SSBCI team has been hard at work getting their funding out faster than all but five states! They’re also getting ready to launch the first SSBCI-financed equity fund, making $10 million in new equity funding available. If your business is interested in learning how it could benefit from the SSBCI or any other federal program, Geoff and Aurora, on the SSBCI Technical Assistance team, want to talk to you! They have developed a suite of resources to help Alaskan businesses apply for and secure federal, state, or local government funding.

On top of all that, we just released our Annual Report and our Small Business Survey results showcasing the work the organization has done over the last year (pretty impressive if I do say so myself) as well as the feedback we’ve gotten from businesses across the state on barriers to growth, prospects for securing funding, workforce issues and more. If you haven’t read through it yet, I hope you do; it’s one of the most comprehensive overviews of the small business sector. We even got help from economic experts at the UA Center for Economic Development this year to do more advanced data modeling and analysis.

All in all, it’s a busy time of year, and we’re excited to get into the swing of things with you and your business! The Alaska SBDC is growing and expanding in exciting and unprecedented ways that will provide Alaskan businesses with new cutting-edge opportunities, resources, and tools to help jump-start the economy and support local communities. Please reach out and let us know what you need and how we can help you continue to succeed!

Jon Bittner
Alaska SBDC Executive Director

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