Neighborhood Business Development Center (NBDC) is funded through the City of Chicago’s Business Affairs & Consumer Protection Department. provides customized support for business within the local community.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of the Chicago economy, responsible for half of the city’s workforce and serving as community anchors in neighborhoods across the city. To better support, small businesses in all of Chicago’s neighborhoods, the City of Chicago recently launched a strategy to continue to cut red tape, build the capacity of neighborhood resource centers, and expand neighborhood-based business support. The NBDC program is a key component of this strategy.

As a delegate agency in the NBDC initiative, WSF provides customized small business resources and training to entrepreneurs and existing businesses located on the west side of Chicago with a particular focus on entrepreneurs of color and women.

In conjunction with the Illinois SBDC at West Side Forward, local aldermen, the City, and other community partners. WSF provides assistance with:

Information about a particular neighborhood
Getting a new small business started
Troubleshooting City-related issues for small businesses
Connecting businesses to financial resources
Business-to-business networking opportunities
Employment and workforce development assistance
Consumer marketing assistance
Connecting your business to the local community

Since its launch in January 2014, the program has supported more than 80 businesses in scaling business operations and profits.

Through this program WSF provides the following services to the qualified companies it supports:

• Technical Assistance
• Connecting To Financial Resources
• Connections To Corporate Supply Chains
• Business-To-Business Networking Opportunities

• Business Incubation

• West Side Business Xcelerator program