New Grant Targets Assistance to Energy Sector Small Businesses and Displaced Workers in Wyoming

The Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network recently received a Portable Assistance Grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide technical and advising assistance to Wyoming small businesses affected by the economic downturn in the energy industry.

The SBDC Network is a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming. Portable Assistance Grants are provided by the SBA to target negative economic events in specific business segments or geographical areas. 

“Although the grant is modest and does not provide direct financial assistance to small businesses, it does allow us to increase training and advising opportunities for businesses and workers affected by the downturn in the energy industry,” says Jill Kline, state director of the Wyoming SBDC Network. “The focus of our grant activities is to help negatively affected businesses strengthen their operations or pivot into other areas. We also would love to work with displaced workers interested in applying their skills as small-business owners. The ultimate goal is to contribute to a stronger, more diversified Wyoming economy.”

If a small business has been negatively affected by economic factors in the energy industry or has a displaced energy worker interested in learning about small business ownership, contact the Wyoming SBDC Network at www.wyomingsbdc.org to learn more about business advising and training opportunities.

All advising and training opportunities presented through grant activities are no-cost, and all one-on-one advising is completely confidential, as are all interactions with the Wyoming SBDC Network.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost, confidential advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2020, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 95 new businesses, support 6,964 jobs and bring a capital impact of $18 million to the state.

The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the SBA.