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Maryland Women's Business Center highlights local incubator: 67 Buoie clients, 17 retailers incubated at Shop Local
Summary
Karen Sipple of the Maryland Women's Business Center told the council MWBC served 67 unique Buoie clients in FY26 and that the Shop Local retail incubator has supported 17 small businesses generating nearly $130,000 in revenue; she described counseling, training and a Founders Rising cohort for displaced federal workers.
Karen Sipple, managing director of the Maryland Women's Business Center (MWBC), updated the Buoie City Council on June 1 about MWBC's local activities and metrics.
Sipple said MWBC has served 67 unique Buoie clients so far in FY26, and that the Shop Local retail incubator at Buoie Town Center has incubated 17 small businesses that have together generated nearly $130,000 in revenue to date. She also cited program-wide metrics across MWBC's nine-year footprint: about 310 unique clients served locally over nine years, roughly 260 minority-owned businesses and approximately $500,000 in tracked capital infusion across the Buoie partnership period. For FY26 specifically, Sipple said the local work contributed to three tracked business starts, 85 jobs supported and $11,000 in measured capital infusion.
Sipple described MWBC's five core services (training, one-on-one counseling, cohorts/incubators, resource networks and capital connection) and summarized the Founders Rising accelerator MWBC launched to help displaced federal workers evaluate entrepreneurship. She acknowledged data-collection limits (survey response rates) and said MWBC is reviewing branding and marketing for Shop Local to increase awareness among Buoie residents.
Council members asked detailed questions about client residence, performance measures (revenue, jobs and follow-up surveys), marketing and whether incubator alumni open permanent storefronts; MWBC staff said they will follow up with more detailed metrics and are planning a one-year anniversary event for Shop Local.
Why it matters: MWBC programs provide direct counseling, training and a retail incubation pathway for early-stage local businesses. Council members flagged interest in measuring local returns, job creation in Buoie and alignment between incubator outcomes and city economic-development goals.
