Program Overview

The Small Business Accelerator is an initiative of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Use the free tools on this website to structure your market research, grow your business, gage potential market size or learn the latest industry trends. Managed by specialized librarians, the Small Business Accelerator (SBA) provides free access to reliable resources to help you build a successful business. 

Five Ways We Support BC Businesses:

  1. Over 100 detailed Accelerator Guides spanning 18 industries
  2. A step-by-step manual on Business Research Basics
  3. Promotion and hosting of business related events across the province
  4. Opportunities for collaboration and partnership across sectors
  5. Facilitating a strong community of regional business support organizations- join our directory and become a part of the Small Business Accelerator community

We Value Collaborations

We value collaboration and appreciate the expertise of community support providers and information professionals in BC. If you help would-be start-ups or small businesses and have resources, events or information you'd like to share -- please consider joining our community or becoming a SBA partner. Learn more here.

Background

Initiated by Jan Wallace, the former Interim Director of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, and Head of the David Lam Library, the SBA intended to list online research guides to assist BC entrepreneurs with secondary market research and business planning information. The project was originally built on the expertise of the business librarians who support the Sauder School of Business.

In 2008, Aleha McCauley, Community Engagement Librarian (Business Services), joined the program. Under her direction user centered design and community engagement emerged as key components of the SBA development. After much preparation the Small Business Accelerator Program launched November 2010. It has been a busy and exciting time since the SBA launch.