Women’s Business Center

Unique in Oregon
The Women’s Business Center at Mercy Corps NW is the only Women’s Business Center (WBc) in Oregon. We are partially funded by the US Small Business Administration.

Our Clients
The WBC at Mercy Corps NW works to assist motivated low-income individuals improve their lives through starting or expanding a small business. We provide funding, matched savings and other services that help clients increase their economic self-sufficiency through self-employment. Our programs, serve women, men, minorities and veterans.

Workshops and Training
We offer trainings to support our entrepreneurs at every phase of their business. Our Orientation, seminars, and Foundations Business Planning classes are offered to help our clients grow and run their enterprises, but are also open to anyone wanting to build their small business skills.

Loans
Mercy Corps NW is a nationally recognized microfinance organization that has been delivering small business loans since 2001. The MCNW loan program provides needed capital to qualified individuals who cannot obtain traditional bank loans in Washington and Oregon. We move beyond banks in our funding and support services. MCNW loans range from $500 to $50,000. The average loan is around $10,000. Terms average three years but are up to five years and at commercial rates. Find out if a MCNW loan is right for you.

Earn a Matching Grant for Your Business Savings with an IDA
Individual Development Accounts, or IDAs, are matched savings accounts that enable low-income American families to save, build assets, and enter the financial mainstream. IDAs reward the monthly savings of working families who are building towards purchasing an asset - most commonly buying their first home, paying for post-secondary education, or starting a small business. Mercy Corps Northwest offers small business IDAs. Learn more about this special savings program.

New Business Spotlight

Sina Baking LLC’s founder, Jewelie Cordero Schultz, spent her junior year in High School as a foreign exchange student in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, the birthplace of pao de queijo. Jewelie loved pao de queijo so much that she learned the traditional way of preparing it during her stay in Brazil, so that she could recreate it upon returning home to Oregon.In the years following her return from Brazil, Jewelie perfected her recipe for pao de queijo, much to the delight of her family and friends. In 2009 Jewelie decided to turn her hobby of making pao de queijo into a business, and Paobread was born. Jewelie and her Husband Derek founded Sina Baking, LLC in 2010. Their objective is simple: To produce an authentic and all natural pao de queijo (as well as a few of Jewelie’s delicious variations.) Paobread is currently available in Portland area markets. Julie is a recent graduate of Mercy Corps Northwest Foundations Business Planning course. Visit Sina Baking, LLC online.


Become a Government Contractor
The Federal Government will purchase over 550 Billion dollars of goods and services this year. Let us help you get started.


.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)r

      Mercy Corps NW is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the US Small Business Administration (SBA) All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.