CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A top administrator with the U.S. Small Business Administration made multiple stops in West Virginia last week to learn more about the business environment in the state and ways the government agency can help people.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Michelle Christian stopped in Bluefield, Huntington, Charleston and Point Pleasant last week.
“President Trump and the Trump administration has made places like West Virginia a priority so that every single person throughout West Virginia knows about the products and services the SBA has to offer,” she said.
The SBA offers tools such as access to capital and business advisors.
“We can help you get your ducks in a row,” Christian said.
Christian’s stops included speaking in Bluefield to workers associated with Intuit’s “prosperity hub” — which could bring up to 500 jobs with Quickbooks and an innovation lab for small businesses — and visiting opportunity zones in Huntington and Charleston.
“It’s really nice to see the growth and really the commitment of federal, state and local leaders to move the economy forward,” she said.
West Virginia has 55 opportunity zones, which are plans that encourage private investments through tax incentives. The program became possible through the 2017 tax law.