GRAND RAPIDS ? It?s been a decade since the Region 7 Office of the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center moved to Grand Valley State University. This Thursday, a few Grand Rapids dignitaries will help Regional Director Nancy Boese celebrate the event with a breakfast hosted by GVSU. The Region 7 office relocated from Grand Rapids Community College to Grand Valley in 1994.
The breakfast starts at 8 am at the DeVos Center at Loosemore Auditorium. Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell and Seidman School of Business Dean James Williams will both be on hand to offer their congratulations.
The Region 7 Office serves the greater Grand Rapids area, which includes Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties. Some 50,000 businesses operate in the region; Boese said her office works with close to 1,000 each year.
?During the first nine months of this year, we?ve helped companies raise more than $9 million in equity finance,?? she said. ?Last year, we did $9.9 million overall. The investment has created 155 jobs this year. Last year, we created 128 jobs.?
Services provided by Boese?s office can include providing basic start up information, to finding sales people, to helping a company find export markets. She has four full time staff people and another five under contract.
Region 7 is one of 12 regions serviced by the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center statewide. Both the Region 7 office and the state headquarters are based at Grand Valley State University in a converted railroad station on the edge of the downtown Grand Rapids campus.
