$2.3M small business center ‘Accelerate Augusta’ to come soon

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – In 2022, with the help of Senator Raphael Warnock, Augusta Technical College and the Downtown Development Authority of Augusta received $2.3 million for a microenterprise center for small businesses in Augusta.

On Thursday, leaders unveiled the building where the microenterprise center will be and introduced the name “Accelerate Augusta.”

It will be located at 600 Broad Street. Located in the heart of downtown, Accelerate Augusta will serve as the city’s official hub for all things small business for new and seasoned small business owners.

“It’s a project we started two years ago. The official launch is today,” said Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority, Margaret Woodard.

When it opens, entrepreneurs will be able to stop by the building for legal, finance, human resources, and marketing help without having to outsource those services on their own.

President of Augusta Technical College, Dr. Jermaine Whirl, said: “Our mission is to provide the talent in this community, but also to provide bridges and opportunities for those who have dreams.”

Leaders say the ideas for what will be offered at the microenterprise center came from a series of focus groups with small business owners themselves.

It’s a way to set entrepreneurs up for success, an idea that was born out of the pandemic.

Woodard said: “It was estimated that 35% of small businesses and start-ups would not succeed.”

The hope is to continue to fill Augusta’s storefronts with small businesses.

Construction will begin in January, with the hopes of completion by fall of next year.

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