CenterState CEO and Greater Syracuse Business Development Corporation form New Partnership

The alignment streamlines access to small business growth capital

SYRACUSE, NY— CenterState CEO and the Greater Syracuse Business Development Corporation (GSBDC) announced a new strategic partnership to scale GSBDC’s lending resources and better serve the region’s small businesses. Together CenterState CEO and GSBDC will leverage aligned investments, market opportunities and comprehensive support services, ultimately providing the region’s small business community with more streamlined resources. The two organizations are already working with each other to explore ways to make capital more accessible for small businesses.

“As we prepare the community for unprecedented growth, we recognize the need to significantly enhance how we’re directly supporting all our region’s small businesses.” said Rob Simpson, president of CenterState CEO. “As longtime partners with a shared vision, we look forward to working with GSBDC to make it easier for small businesses to access the capital they need to capture the opportunities of a growing community.”

Under the new agreement, GSBDC staff will operate from CenterState CEO’s office in downtown Syracuse. CenterState CEO will provide GSBDC with the staffing and administrative support necessary to manage and expand GSBDC operations and lending resources. This alignment will result in a more uniform, expanded, and easy-to-access set of small business tools.

“With the support and resources afforded us under this partnership, GSBDC is most excited about the prospects of being able to provide a significantly more robust mission-based small business lending program to our community,” said Bob Ellis, executive director of GSBDC. “We feel this move may be the most significant advancement in our ability to meet our client’s needs since GSBDC’s inception. We are proud to be able to call CenterState CEO our strategic partner.”  

GSBDC, a certified development company by the Small Business Administration (SBA), was formed in 1964. The organization has helped hundreds of small businesses in Central New York open their doors and grow in the region. A majority of the GSBDC’s work is through the SBA 504 Program, which provides long-term, fixed rate financing of up to $5 million for property or equipment used to operate a business. The GSBDC also maintained various revolving loan funds. These services helped to create and retain thousands of jobs in Central New York and supported economic development opportunities.