Pacific SBDC gets 5-year accreditation

The Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center network has successfully received a five-year accreditation to operate in Micronesia.

According to CNMI SBDC director Nicole Babauta, the accreditation certifies the Pacific network, which is made up of six SBDC service centers throughout Micronesia.

Babauta

Babauta said the service centers are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, with the CNMI center hosted by the CNMI Department of Commerce and additional funding support from the Commonwealth Development Authority.

With this accreditation, the PISBDC has successfully met the standards and requirements set by the SBA and America’s Small Business Development Centers.

The accreditation lasts until December 2023 and will undergo a review every five years.

Denise M. Mendiola, PISBDC acting network director and the Guam SBDC director, noted that in October 2018, an accreditation team consisting of other SBDCs contracted by the SBA conducted a site visit and interviewed the PISBDC network staff and advisory board members as well as the center’s host, sponsors, and clients to assess the program.

The next five years will bring special focus to food security and regional trade and export.

Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said that SBDC is a critical partner for locally-owned small businesses.

“From starting a business to managing a business, SBDC has been able to increase access to business training and assist our community in leveraging all available resources to succeed,” Torres said.

“We commend the PISBDC network and encourage our community to look into these opportunities to make their business ideas become reality and play an active role in building our economy,” said Lt. Gov. Arnold I. Palacios.

Babauta adds that the PISBDC will continue to build strong, effective and functional partnerships while recognizing the cultural diversity of its constituents and will seek to overcome any barriers to their participation in the PISBDCN’s programs and activities, including those arising from differences of languages and culture.

The PISBDC network exists to support the growth and economic development of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands in the Western Pacific region by providing training and free business counseling to existing and prospective small businesses.

Under the umbrella of the network lead center are service centers in Guam, Yap, Chuuk, Kosrae, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Palau. PISBDCN is part of the ASBDC network with 1,000 SBDCs within 63 networks across the United States and its territories.

For more information on the Pacific SBDC network, log on to www.pacificsbdc.com or email cnmisbdc@pacificsbdc.com. (PR)