KENNESAW,Covad, a provider of broadband services, has picked five entrepreneurs to receive grants and complimentary broadband access as part of the Cobb County Microenterprise Center entrepreneurship program/

The grants go to graduates of the Microenterprise center and are part of Covad’s Broadband Entrepreneur Program. The outreach program focused on underserved low to moderate income entrepreneurs, with emphasis on minority, women, and disabled entrepreneurs. Covad created the program along with the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) to provide both monetary awards and Covad broadband services to entrepreneurs from non-profit organization in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee as well as Georgia.

“Doing business over the Internet is essential these days, and the Covad grants will be a huge help to our graduates,” said Patricia Harris, Cobb Microenterprise Center Executive Director and CEO, in a statement. “We expect the grants will make it easier for them to conduct e-commerce, market themselves, improve customer service and perform many other much-needed tasks.”

The winners receive $500 and one year of complimentary broadband service.

The five winners and their businesses are:

  • Jacquelyn Swint, Jazzy J’s Air Fresh’ners
  • David Vogelpohl, Aristocrat Technical Services
  • Karen Kimbrough, Kanydre, Inc.
  • Zelma Kovacs, Zelmi LLC
  • Faye Adams, Hey Young World

  • The winners are eligible additional awards next year.

    For more information regarding the Covad Broadband Entrepreneur Program see: www.covad.com/companyinfo/communityoutreach.shtml