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Entrepreneurship Support Services

The economic development staff at the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce supports the entrepreneurial spirit and provides services to local entrepreneurs and small businesses. The staff offers liaison services with local entities such as the Small Business Development Center, the Western Kentucky University Center for Research and Development, and SCORE. The staff can also provide information about Kentucky's Micro Enterprise Loan Program.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

Housed on Western Kentucky University’s campus, the SBDC provides emerging and existing businesses with small business training programs, and small business publications and reference information.

Learn more about the SBDC.

Western Kentucky University Center for Research and Development

The Center for Research and Development at Western Kentucky University is a central location for research facilities in the South Central Kentucky region and features access to applied research centers and scientists. The Center focuses on technology-based start-up companies and on bolstering existing businesses while fostering collaborations between private companies and Western Kentucky University for research purposes.

The facility includes

  • Western Kentucky University’s Applied Physics Institutes
  • The Institute for Combustion Science & Environmental Technology
  • The Materialization Characterization Center and Cyber Defense Center
  • A Small Business Accelerator, including 17 technology-based businesses
  • The Central Region Innovation and Commercialization Center

Visit the Center for Research and Development.

SCORE

The Service Corps of Retired Executives Association (SCORE) has been assisting small business for more than 40 years and is a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The association, made up of 11,000 volunteer business executives and professionals across the nation, provides entrepreneurs and small business owners with free counsel, advice and education. Counselors advise and guide their clients to make decisions about business ventures, and counseling is available for persons wanting to go into business as well as those already in business. SCORE counselors have a wide variety of experience from areas such as sales, marketing, manufacturing, inventory control, production scheduling, finance, and engineering, among other business experiences.

Learn more about SCORE.

Micro Enterprise Loan Program

The Micro Enterprise Loan Program was recently expanded to reach all Kentucky counties. The program, funded by a one-time state allocation of $125,000 from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA), provides financing up to $35,000 for entrepreneurs and small business operations. Locally, the expanded loan program is administered by Community Ventures Corporation (CVC), a private, nonprofit community and business development organization, from their regional office in Bowling Green.

The program will be structured similar to a 16-month pilot Kentucky Micro Enterprise Loan Program that was started in 2007, and was also administered by  CVC, which will leverage state funding to obtain additional federal loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Learn more about Community Ventures Corporation.