GATE Program at the ECC Small Business Center

The GATE Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, is a scholarship program that provides training and coaching to help laid-off or dislocated workers interested in starting a business. It is being offered to rural North Carolinians from 2009 through 2011, and is being directed locally through the Small Business Center at Edgecombe Community College.

A limited number of GATE scholarships will be offered in each location based on an application process. Those selected for the scholarship will receive:

Individual assessment of entrepreneurial skills
Entrepreneurship training and counseling
An introduction to other resource professionals who can help you throughout the life of your business
Help applying for a microenterprise loan upon completion of a workable business plan

Applicants must:

Be dislocated workers (lost a job through no fault of their own due to a business closing or layoff) and be eligible to work in the United States
Be 18 or older and eligible to work in the United States
Complete an orientation session and scholarship application

For more information, please contact Shari Dickens, GATE Program Coordinator, at (252) 823-5166, ext. 166, dickenss@edgecombe.edu or visit www.NCProjectGate.org.