Los Angeles, CA–Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price joined community leaders today for the grand opening of the Southeast Los Angeles Business Source Center located at 2415 S. Central Ave in the historic South Central Avenue Corridor.
The Southeast Los Angeles Business Source Center will offer the surrounding South Central/South L.A community various levels of free assistance to develop micro-enterprises and small businesses in CD9. The center aims to support aspiring entrepreneurs in the City of Los Angeles, with the goal of revitalizing the local CD9 economy by providing services and resources to help local businesses increase revenue and create jobs.
“Throughout the last two years we have seen the dire need for business support in all facets just for them to stay afloat during the pandemic,” said Council-member Curren Price. “With the new Southeast Los Angeles BusinessSource Center opening in District 9, this opportunity is going to provide resources that are going to strengthen the business economy and open the doors for current and future entrepreneurs to bring their passion and innovation to the community.”
The Southeast Los Angeles Business Source Center is led by the Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD), along with oversight from the City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD). Critical services including business coaching, access to capital, and entrepreneur training programs will also be provided.
“CRCD has been working in the community for 17 years to provide youth and adult workforce development services, education, and affordable housing,” commented Mark Wilson, CRCD President and CEO. “When we helped form the Historic Central Avenue BID a few years ago, we realized the need for the resources that a BusinessSource Center can bring to our community. The time has come, and we are ready to get to work helping new and existing businesses thrive.”
The COVID-19 pandemic only highlighted the fragility of many small businesses in District 9. The Southeast Los Angeles Business Source Center will be a bridge to help address wealth gap issues facing CD9 residents, through services like business coaching, access to capital, and entrepreneur training programs.
Services will be available in multiple languages to support CD9 residents across nationality.
According to Councilman Price, the Southeast Los Angeles Business Source Center is part of a network of 10 centers located throughout the City of L.A, that are dedicated to leading entrepreneurs through the complexities of launching a business, while offering guidance to help them survive and thrive.
“The City’s Business Source Centers were instrumental in providing technical resources to small businesses during the application process, which contributed to many successful grant awards,” said Carolyn Hull, General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Economic and Workforce Development Department. “The centers are a go-to resource and have the keys to unlock all of the City’s resources for small businesses that will ensure their success and longevity.”
For more information about the Southeast Los Angeles BusinessSource Center, visit https://southeastlabsc.org.
To learn more about the BusinessSource Center system, visit bit.ly/LABusinessSource or ewddlacity.com.
