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Spartanburg official addresses Landrum City Council regarding small business project

 

LANDRUM–At the Landrum City Council meeting on Tuesday, the Council heard a presentation focused on supporting local businesses in Spartanburg County.

Jay Jenkins, Director of Small and Minority Business Development in Spartanburg, visited the Council to discuss Power Up Spartanburg, a project that will target small businesses in Landrum and all over the county.

The program is an initiative of One Spartanburg, the Chamber of Spartanburg County that includes commerce, the Visitors Bureau and the Economic Futures Group. 

For the past two years, Spartanburg County has led South Carolina in business development. However, the number of small businesses in Spartanburg County is low compared to the national average and is one of the lowest ranked in the nation when it comes to African-American-owned businesses.

“We knew when it came to large industry, one of the things you don’t think of is small business,” said Jenkins. “We have kind of forgotten about small business, and we want to change that.” 

The Spartanburg County Council has allotted $6.8M over the next five years to “help grow, maintain, sustain and attract small businesses,” and to “build, start and grow small and minority businesses.”

Over two million dollars will be reserved for loans and grants for starting small businesses, and $675,000 of this will be designated solely for grants. Referred to as “impact grants,” the grants will be awarded in increments of $5,000 to $10,000.

“I came here to tell you this because there are small businesses here that can benefit from these grants and loans,” Jenkins said to the Council. “We would like to have our presence more in Landrum.”

The grants awarded will come with further aid in the form of experts, a mentorship program, and technical assistance.

“What we’re talking about is giving these business owners education, opportunity to grow their businesses,” Jenkins stated. “We have everything that’s needed to help a small business grow”.

The program will be launched on June 29 at Cyclops Brewery in Spartanburg. Applications for loans and grants can be found at powerupspartanburg.com. More information can be found at onespartanburginc.com.