The Blinn College Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helped its clients obtain almost $8 million in loans and generated 91 new jobs during the last fiscal year, Director Matthew Wehring told the College’s Board of Trustees during its regular meeting Tuesday night.

The three-person Blinn SBDC staff helped local business owners establish 27 new businesses and served 315 clients in Washington, Colorado and Austin counties, according to the Fiscal Year 2014 report.

Over the past three years, Blinn’s SBDC has helped its clients create 59 new businesses and 233 new jobs, and helped them acquire $14.73 million in new capital.

“We believe in creating strong relationships with our clients,” Wehring said. “Whether your business is just starting or well established, the SBDC’s free and confidential business advice can prove vital to your success.”

Nationwide, the SBDC Network’s more than 1,000 locations helped clients obtain an estimated $4 billion in financing in 2012, and every dollar spent on the SBDC network enabled small businesses to access $35.55 in new capital. The SBDC Network generates a new job every seven minutes, $100,000 in capital every 13 minutes and a new business every 36 minutes.

The SBDC at Blinn College is a business consulting and training center that is part of the Texas Gulf Coast Small Business Development Center Network, which serves 32 counties in Southeast Texas. The center provides free one-on-one consulting and low-cost training seminars.