BATON ROUGE — Louisiana will soon have a new Veterans Business Outreach Center after the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs and The Boot helped secure nearly $175,000 per year for five years in federal funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The SBA announced the grant as part of a nearly $4.9 million nationwide investment to expand the VBOC network in Alaska, Florida and Louisiana.

The Boot, a Louisiana-based organization aimed at attracting, retaining and advancing military talent across the state, will establish and operate the new Louisiana VBOC. The center will offer entrepreneurship training, counseling and technical assistance at no cost to veterans, active-duty service members, National Guard and Reserve members, military spouses and eligible family members.

Services will include individual business counseling, financial and business planning, access-to-capital assistance and government contracting guidance. The center will also offer veteran business certification support, marketing and outreach and SBA's Boots to Business program for transitioning service members and military spouses.

"Louisiana's veterans don't just serve their country, many of them come home and build businesses that serve their communities," Secretary Charlton Meginley of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs said. "This grant means more of them will have a partner in that journey and there is no better organization than The Boot to lead this effort."

The Louisiana VBOC will build partnerships with military installations, veteran-serving organizations, economic development groups, chambers of commerce, universities and community colleges, lenders and government and private-sector partners across the state.

Louisiana is home to approximately 250,000 veterans, according to the LDVA, which serves veterans and their families through a statewide network of benefits counselors, state veterans homes, state veterans cemeteries and educational-support programs.