Kean Expands Its Small Business Development Center to Somerset County

The New Jersey Small Business Development Center (NJSBDC) at Kean University has expanded its service territory and now will provide services to businesses in Somerset and Union counties.

The NJSBDC offers free consulting services, business training and more to small businesses, and is also developing programs that provide Kean students with a path to entrepreneurship, small business creation and social enterprise.

“As New Jersey’s urban research university, Kean works with communities throughout the state to support their economic growth and development,” said Kean President Lamont O. Repollet, Ed.D. “The Kean SBDC’s expansion is the latest example of Kean’s commitment to the state and its communities.”  

The NJSBDC is located in Hynes Hall, home of Kean’s College of Business and Public Management (CBPM), and works closely with the business college. 

“Kean University serves as a major resource for regional advancement,” said CBPM Dean Jin Wang, Ph.D. “The NJSBDC has a long tradition of supporting the success of businesses in Union County, so we are excited for the opportunity to expand that reach to the Somerset County business community and create more opportunities for our students and faculty to engage with businesses.” 

Rafael Mata, the new regional director of the NJSBDC, said the Center expansion represents a regional approach to business consulting and in-person educational offerings and direct business services.

“It is practical that we move to regional structures that better serve our business communities and mirror how local economies interact with each other,” Mata said. “The Center shall align innovation and research to improve our small business consulting and low-cost educational offerings for business owners and entrepreneurs. In addition, we will incorporate students looking to entrepreneurship as an option post-graduation.”

The New Jersey Small Business Development Centers network, one of the first national pilot projects, has provided comprehensive services and programs for small business in New Jersey for 45 years. Under the direction of State Director Kelly Broznya, the network is equipped to help small business owners and entrepreneurs develop business plans, find financing, accounting and financial analysis, identify new markets, initiate marketing strategies, find procurement and international trade opportunities, learn green sustainability practices, commercialize technology and develop an e-commerce presence.

The nonprofit network is a federal-state educational partnership. The NJSBDC headquarters, located at the Rutgers Business School in Newark, oversees the network, an accredited member of America’s SBDC. For more information, visit www.njsbdc.com.