FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 21, 2008
Contact: Anika Mitchell Perkins
(662) 329-7124
aperkins@pa.muw.edu

MUW Women’s Center hosts Entrepreneurship Week Sept. 8-11

COLUMBUS, Miss. - The Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship (WCE) at
Mississippi University for Women will host its first Entrepreneurship
Week Sept. 8-11. This year’s theme is “Entrepreneurship: From Dream
to Reality.”

Lucy Betcher, director of the WCE, said, “From the youngest to the
oldest, the Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship E-Week 2008 is an
excellent opportunity for both existing as well as prospective
entrepreneurs to participate in a week long event featuring a variety of
activities with unlimited networking opportunities which can strengthen
their business success making their bottom line healthier.”

The week will kick off with a luncheon to introduce the WCE’s Mentor
Network Program. One major component of the Mentor Network Program is to assist emerging women business owners by partnering them with
experienced women business owners who will mentor and help the new
entrepreneur as she works to grow her business. The role of the mentor
is to: act as a sounding board for ideas; help mentees network with
appropriate groups and individuals; provide advice on appropriate
persons or groups to help support the business and identify appropriate
needs or skills upgrading for the business and business owner.

E-Week 2008 supports the national efforts by the Consortium for
Entrepreneurship Education’s National Entrepreneurship Week. This is a
national effort designed to give every state the opportunity to
recognize the ways entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship education
positively impact their local, state and national economy.

Entrepreneurship is a driving force of the U.S. economy, according to
Betcher.

During the past 15 years, businesses less than five years old have
counted for about 70 percent of the net job creation in the United
States, according to the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education.
However, while America presently maintains the edge as an
entrepreneurial society, there are clear signs of massive economic
competition from abroad. More Americans in the future will need to be
generating more ideas and better innovations if the United States is to
stay ahead of the large populations of educated citizens in emerging and
globally savvy economies.

“We thank all of the organizations across the state for their
outstanding assistance in sponsoring the first Entrepreneurship Week at
MUW. The WCE plans to continue and expand celebrations and recognitions of entrepreneurship in Columbus on a regular basis,” Betcher said.

The WCE assists individuals with starting and managing a business
through workshops, seminars and one-on-one counseling.

For more information on events during E-Week 2008, contact the WCE at
(662) 241-6277 or visit www.muw.edu/wce.