University business assistance program gets grant from Delta Regional Authority

Those considering starting their own businesses will have more options to get assistance thanks to a grant awarded to Southeast Missouri State University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Friday.

The center will expand its Operation Jump-Start program to four new sites this year with $153,903 in funding from the Delta Regional Authority.

Officials from the Delta Regional Authority, an eight-state federal partnership that funds economic, infrastructure and transportation projects, and Gov. Jay Nixon joined representatives from Southeast during a news conference at the university's Wehking Alumni Center.

The university is offering $25,000 in startup grants people who complete the Operation Jump-Start program can compete for. The program assists people starting a business with planning and obtaining grant funding. Since the program began in 1996, more than 200 small businesses have started, creating about 350 jobs, said Dr. Ken Dobbins, president of Southeast Missouri State University.

Nixon said the center's Jump-Start program is a model for the rest of the state.

"It will help get Missourians back to work and get Missouri's economy moving in the right direction," Nixon said.

Courses will begin next month in Marble Hill, Ironton, Sikeston and one more yet-to-be-determined Bootheel location.

Classes met two nights a week for six weeks, covering business development topics including pricing, competition, cash flow, marketing and legal structure. At the end of the course, graduates submit a business plan to compete for up to $5,000 startup grants.

For more information, visit www.semo.edu/cie.

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