The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA), The Vicksburg-Warren Partnership and the City of Vicksburg are coming together to host a Small Business Forum in Vicksburg later this month.

Scheduled to be held Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the Ardis T. Williams Sr. Auditorium, located at 901 Monroe Street in Vicksburg, the SBA Mississippi, SBA Regional Administrator Allen Thomas and Mayor George Flaggs, Jr. will host the event from 3 until 5 p.m.

This event is designed for potential and existing small business owners in Vicksburg and the surrounding areas to learn about SBA loan programs, receive business counseling and training, and access resources to help take their small businesses to the next level of growth, organizers said.

Featured guests will include Thomas; Flaggs; SBA Mississippi District Director Janita R. Stewart; and Vicksburg-Warren Partnership President and CEO Pablo Diaz. 

Topics will include counseling and training, including business advice from the SBA Resource Partners Network; access to capital training, where attendees will learn about the 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program and Microloan Program; and lender requirements training, where attendees will learn what lenders look for when considering a loan application.

Organizers said event highlights will include an interactive chat with Thomas, Flaggs and Diaz; an SBA Entrepreneurial Development Resource Partners Panel, including free and confidential counseling, training, management and technical assistance available to small businesses and people who want to start a business; an SBA Lenders Partner Panel, including an overview of SBA’s loan programs; a session with local small business owners and their first-hand accounts of success stories; and additional question-and-answer sessions. 

This event is free and open to the public, but organizers said space is limited and advance registration is required.

Registration for the event may be found by visiting  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/small-business-forum-tickets-966537267987