Business Development Center director reaches out to Maui emergency shelter residents

Maui County’s Business Development Center director David Daly discussed programs about financial literacy and business planning to a few residents at the emergency shelter Wahi Ho‘omalu ‘O Wailuku.

After hearing the informal talk held at the shelter run by Family Life Center, some residents showed interest in the next Core Four Business Planning Course run by Maui Economic Opportunity’s Business Development Center.

The online five-week course on Zoom is open to the public and runs March 1 to 31, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m. The course cost is $50, with financial assistance is available.

Registration is required for the course, which can be done by submitting an online application through www.meoinc.org (click on the Business Development Center tab). Enrollment forms also can be picked up at MEO Family Center, 99 Mahalani St. in Wailuku. For more information, call Lianne Peros-Busch at MEO Business Development Center at 808-249-2990.

Daly also talked with shelter residents about the teen and adult Money Matters Financial Literacy workshops. They are free and held monthly with the next two-day session set for 10 a.m. to noon March 16 and 17 via Zoom.

The adult class focuses on budgeting and saving, spending tendencies, credit and more.  For more information, contact Heather Wells by email at heather.wells@meoinc.org or by phone at 808-243-4317.

The teen sessions are held during the summer.

Other county financial and business offerings include a microloan program, which focuses on start-ups, and new credit counseling services.