PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Rhode Island District Office has revealed its plans to partner with the Better Business Bureau to provide free educational opportunities to Rhode Island’s small business community, according to the SBA Thursday.
Today, the companies signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum, an agreement that marks the beginning of their partnership.
“We found that the SBA and Better Business Bureau’s goals were the same; support and aid in the growth of business,” SBA District Director, Mark S. Hayward said in a statement. “We achieve this in different ways and by bringing our two entities together we can help to make the small business community stronger by helping to cultivate a relationship of trust with the public consumer base,” he added.
The SBA is an independent agency of the federal government that advocates for small business concerns, while the BBB is a nonprofit aimed at setting marketplace trust standards.
“The SBA encompasses similar standards to BBB – to help small business owners succeed in a responsible and focused manner,” stated local BBB Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Paula Fleming. “By working together, we can further represent these standards while bringing additional assurance to those seeking trustworthy professionals.”
The first joint course with the SBA and BBB is centered around the importance of cybersecurity in the online marketplace, and will take place on Tuesday, June 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Warwick Public Library, 600 Sandy Lane.
For more information on the co-sponsorship agreement or inquiries about the cybersecurity course contact Ryan.Brissette@sba.gov, or (202) 805-9168.
Haley Hunt is a PBN contributing writer.
