MSBDC speaks at small business event in Brockton

On October 28, 2022, the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) participated in the Access To Capital Small Business Summit in Brockton. The MSBDC joined SBA's Massachusetts District Office and the Cape Verdean Association for the event that provided Brockton-area small business owners and entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn about accessing capital.

Clifford Robbins, senior business advisor with the MSBDC Southeast Regional Office, moderated the event. In addition, Cliff discussed the free and confidential one-to-one business advice that the MSBDC provides for existing and startup small businesses. With six regional offices, two specialty centers, and outreach locations across the state, MSBDC services are available within 30-minutes of most potential clients in the state. The Southeast Regional Office provides advising and training services to the Brockton area and all of Southeastern Massachusetts.

The Small Business Access to Capital panel discussion featured guest panelists from Eastern Bank, SEED Corporation, and MassDevelopment. For the Small Business Lender Matchmaker session, small businesses met with area lenders and resource partners to discuss business capital needs. Cliff provided questions about the lending process to a panel of bankers, including Bank Five, Needham Bank, Webster Bank, and Rockland Trust. The event ended with a Q&A session.

For fiscal year 2022, the MSBDC network provided 12,440 hours of advising support to 3,222 small businesses and prospective entrepreneurs and training to over 4,000 attendees. With the MSBDC's help, entrepreneurs acquired over $139 million in financing, started 194 business, and created and retained almost 2,000 jobs in Massachusetts.