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Program to award money for start-up

By Adam Testa, The Southern

Saturday, January 10, 2009 9:21 PM CST

CARBONDALE - Entrepreneurs from 16 Southern Illinois counties will be learning the basics of business and vying for a chance to earn $3,500 in seed money for a start-up business.

A program sponsored by Southern Illinois University Carbondale and the Delta Regional Authority will train 45 potential business owners through a nine-week course. At the end of the program, 15 of the participants will receive the financial boost.

The 15 recipients will be selected by a panel of experts based on the business plans they present at the end of the course, said Robyn Laur Russell, director of business development and international trade at the Southern Illinois Entrepreneurial Center at SIUC.

Project coordinator Kim Sanders said the program offers "one bright spot" in a time of hard economic conditions and soaring unemployment rates.

"It means that in times of economic downturn, you really have to look for opportunities," Sanders said.

The program begins Saturday at the Dunn Richmond Center at SIUC. A second, similar program is planned to begin this spring in Du Quoin.

Program goals include creating at least 15 new businesses and 25 jobs through each program, Russell said. Organizers will follow participants for a three-year period after training to measure success.

adam.testa@thesouthern.com

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