A new satellite office of the Entrepreneur Fund opened today in Little Falls that will provide services and resources to women business owners in the surrounding area.

The Women’s Business Alliance is a collaborative effort that will provide women business owners and entrepreneurs with services and resources to grow their business. The new office was made possible through a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Alliance will offer advising and networking opportunities as well as avenues for women entrepreneurs to finance or start a business.

“In many cases, women have been always considered to be an underserved market for accessing capital and for other types of resources, and so we’re trying to make sure that the people that need some assistance know where to come to and that we can create the pathways to get them connected with the other resources,” said Sandy Voigt, Women’s Business Alliance Central Director.

This is the second Women’s Business Alliance started by the Entrepreneur Fund. The Fund is based out of Duluth and partners with area entrepreneurs to stimulate the growth of successful businesses. Founded in 1989, the organization has the vision of having vibrant communities across the region that are created and sustained by entrepreneurs.

“At the Entrepreneur Fund we focus on entrepreneurs and helping them grow so we’re a nonprofit organization, and our mission is really in all the communities and the region we serve, if we can help small business and entrepreneurs grow, we can make an impact on the community and the economy,” explained Shawn Wellnitz, Entrepreneur Fund CEO.

The Entrepreneur Fund covers a 17-county area from Central Minnesota to the Canadian border.

By — Rachel Johnson

Lakeland News Lead Reporter