SBA starting third season of Emerging Leaders program in Syracuse

SYRACUSE  —  The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has opened a small-business training program for its third year in Syracuse.

Syracuse is one of just 27 cities in the nation to host training called the 2013 Emerging Leaders Initiative. In 2012, 17 business leaders graduated from the Syracuse program, which previously operated under the moniker of e200.

Training lasts seven months and requires executives to put in about 100 hours of classroom time. The program aims to help small businesses hire and expand. The SBA has begun to search for 2013 participants.

“Emerging Leaders has a proven track record of helping small businesses in underserved communities,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said in a news release. “Graduates of the program have increased their revenue, created jobs, and helped drive local economic growth in their communities. The addition of four major cities this year builds on this success and provides even more entrepreneurs in underserved communities with the support, resources, and skills to succeed.”

Cities with Emerging Leaders programs are split into urban markets and Native American communities — programs focused on training for American Indian communities. Syracuse is one of the urban markets, along with Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fresno, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., Los Angeles, Memphis, Tenn., Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Youngstown, Ohio.

Native American communities for the 2013 program are Albuquerque, N.M.; Farmington, N.M.; Helena, Mont.; Honolulu; Milwaukee; Oklahoma City; Phoenix, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle, and Tulsa, Okla.

Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com