The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that Lehigh University Small Business Development Center is the recipient of its 2022 Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Award.
Lehigh University SBDC serves the greater Lehigh Valley and was one of the original centers launched over 40 years ago to serve small business clients that want to start, grow and prosper in Pennsylvania.
“We are honored and so proud to serve the small businesses in Upper Bucks, Lehigh, northern Montgomery, and Northampton counties,” said Lehigh University SBDC Director Brett D. Smith. “Our team is dedicated to helping small businesses succeed across the region.”
“The program has grown tremendously under Brett’s leadership,” said Georgette Chapman Phillips, the Kevin L. and Lisa A. Clayton Dean of the College of Business. “He has increased its outreach to underserved communities and expanded its services to support the small businesses in the Lehigh Valley and beyond.”
Last year alone, Lehigh SBDC served more than 900 entrepreneurs, resulting in 56 new business starts and a record $26.7 million in capital formation for start-up and existing businesses. Along with the one-on-one counseling, they provide numerous webinars and training on many small business topics. Lehigh SBDC’s strengths include helping clients access capital as well as its bilingual export and procurement specialists.
“Because of their excellent reputation, the knowledge of their consultants, and their connections to the banking community, they assist with business plan narratives and projections and help clients find financing for their businesses,” said Dr. Ernie Post, Director, Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center Network. “Lehigh’s SBDC is truly an example of how all SBDC centers should be run.”
Lehigh Business is an internationally renowned college dedicated to the scholarship of the next generation of business makers. Aligning business with technology and data analytics, our global curriculum makes the critical connections today’s business world demands. We are boundary breakers that encourage and facilitate learning beyond disciplines, borders and classroom walls. And with a distinguished faculty at the forefront of research, we are delivering the highest caliber education for the business elites of tomorrow to undergraduates, graduates and working professionals.
