SBDC employee now Economic Development Finance Professional

Published or Revised January 11, 2017

Jim Struwe, a counselor with the Paris Small Business Development Corporation, recently received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) from the National Development Council (NDC). Certification is a designation given to individuals who successfully complete an intensive economic development finance training series that is conducted by NDC. The courses provide individuals working in the field of economic development with training in credit analysis, real estate financing, loan packaging, deal structuring and negotiating and the creation and implementation of development programs. Each of the four courses are five days in length and end with a written review that must be passed before a certification candidate is allowed to continue in the EDFP program. When a candidate has completed the entire four-week series, a comprehensive examination is given. Struwe is a seasoned accountant and serial entrepreneur. Building on his BBA in accounting from Stephen F. Austin University, he has assembled almost 40 years of corporate and small business experience. He worked in various positions with a publicly held government contractor for 17 years, promoting to the position of controller and vice president of finance. With this experience, Struwe began small business ownership in 1992 with one of the two different silicon wafer reclamation companies that he worked with. He has worked on various government contracts, public filing documents required by the SEC and DOD, and securing SBA-backed funding for his own businesses. Jim joined the Paris SBDC as a business advisor in 2011, and is a certified Senior Business Advisor. The New York based National Development Council was established in 1972 and is a private non-profit corporation, which specializes in economic/housing development training and technical assistance for economic/housing development. NDC has provided training to approximately 50,000 development people working in the field of economic and housing development. Participants come from many diverse groups: city and state governments, public agencies, community-based organizations, professional organizations, bankers, etc.