CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In parts of West Virginia, economic activity has come to a standstill because of the coronavirus pandemic leaving many business owners in the Mountain State with questions about what the future may look like for them.
To try to help address some of the uncertainty, the West Virginia Department of Commerce Business Relief Directory launched online this week HERE.
“We’ve tried to aggregate all the different resources that are available onto this one site so that it’ll be an easy place for folks to get the information that they need,” said Debra Martin, director of the West Virginia Small Business Development Center.
Her agency is just one that’s accessible through the directory.
Additionally, the West Virginia Small Business Development Center has partnered with the U.S. Small Business Administration for online training workshops focused on available SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
This week’s sessions, limited to the first 100 participants, have been full, said Martin, an indication of the demand for such assistance.
“There’s a huge need among businesses for financial resources to help them get through this,” she said.
Training sessions will continue on weekdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. until further notice.
Business coaching, accessed remotely, was also an option from the Small Business Development Center with coaches located across the Mountain State.
Additional loan and other support for small businesses was part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, which the U.S. House of Representatives was expected to pass as early as Friday.
“Information is changing almost by the hour and we’re all trying to keep up with it,” said Martin.
“Sometimes, we don’t have the answers because everything’s not final yet and so we don’t have a solid answer to give to someone, but we are available to hear them out and to try to direct them to an answer if it is available at this moment.”
Expanded services from WVSBDC were also planned.
“The SBDC is on the front lines of helping businesses to get through this and we will continue to try to get information out as quickly and accurately as possible,” she said.