FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas is expanding its territory in Northwest Arkansas.

Janet Roderick, director of the state program, announced that the center has added Sebastian, Crawford and Franklin counties to its service area, which already included Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton, Searcy and Washington counties. The three counties were formerly served by the Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, a fully accredited small business and technology development center, assists start-ups, existing businesses, expanding businesses and technology businesses through a statewide network of offices. Services include free business consulting and market research and affordable training. The Fayetteville center is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Larry Brian, certified business consultant, is director of the University of Arkansas center.

Uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local non-profit economic development organizations, the national network of small business development centers is the Small Business Administration’s largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. With approximately 1,000 centers across the nation, the network of Small Business and Technology Development Centers assists approximately 725,000 small businesses every year.