The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center based at UALR will receive a $99,994 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration to spark economic development in seven counties in Southwest Arkansas over the next year, Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor along with Rep. Mike Ross announced.

The center will use the grant to offer training and other services for small businesses in Clark, Hempstead, Hot Spring, Howard, Nevada, Ouachita, and Pike counties. The region is struggling with increasing poverty and unemployment after the loss of several major employers. The poverty rate for the seven-county area is 19.7 percent, or 2.5 percent above the Arkansas rate and 7.4 percent above the national average.

“Small businesses can help revitalize local and regional economies,” said Janet Roderick, ASBTDC state director. “We intend to help grow existing small businesses and support businesses adversely affected by the economic conditions in their area.”

ASBTDC regional offices at Henderson State University and Southern Arkansas University and the lead center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock will work together on the project. Using state-of-the-art mobile computer labs, the ASBTDC will provide free hands-on training in multiple locations. Seminars will include “Making Your Business Thrive During an Economic Downturn,” “Keeping Your Books with QuickBooks,” and “QuickBooks Point of Sale.” QuickBooks is a popular accounting software package from Intuit.

The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center program, a partnership of the Small Business Administration and the UALR College of Business, serves new and existing small businesses through a statewide network of seven offices. In addition to the lead center at UALR and offices at HSU and SAU, other regional offices are located at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; University of Arkansas at Fort Smith; and University of Arkansas at Monticello College of Technology in McGehee.