Upstate Business Journal | September 16th, 2020

CommunityWorks, a Small Business Administration approved lender, recently announced it was chosen by the SBA as one of two organizations in South Carolina to house a Women’s Business Center.

Its mission is to serve economically disadvantaged women, specifically minorities, and work to offer training and counseling on a variety of business-related topics as they seek to start or grow their own business.

“The CommunityWorks Women’s Business Center will serve to broaden the reach and scope of their current programming, and place a unique focus on supporting underserved and underrepresented women entrepreneurs,” said Greenville Chamber of Commerce CEO Carlos Phillips. “Their ability to expand their services in this way will ensure that Upstate South Carolina’s women entrepreneurs will have greater access to capital and coaching to expand or start their small business. We at the Greenville Chamber see great value of such an effort.”

The business center will be managed by program director Ana Parra, who comes to the organization from the Hughes Agency, a local marketing agency. She is currently a board member of Public Education Partners and Speaking Down Barriers and a graduate of Leadership Greenville.

The center will operate out of the CommunityWorks office at 100 W. Antrim Drive in Greenville.