Women's Center for Entrepreneurship Honors Women's History Month With Special Programs and Critical Resources for Women Entrepreneurs

CHATHAM, N.J., March 23, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Women's Center for Entrepreneurship is recognizing Women's History Month by championing the accomplishments of women small business owners and providing critical resources to help them succeed. The WCEC Women's Business Center has made it its mission to support women entrepreneurs by serving as a SBA Resource Partner and designated Community Navigator, acting as a "boots on the ground" organization to serve the needs of underrepresented women small business owners looking to start, operate or grow their business. As a go-to resource for women and BIPOC-owned small businesses, the WCEC provides innovative programs, one-on-one business counseling with top subject matter experts, innovative programs, and access to Covid relief and recovery loans and grants.

The WCEC recently launched its E-Commerce Expansion Program to help women and BIPOC small business owners impacted by the Covid crisis develop successful e-commerce businesses and increase their online presence. With women entrepreneurs across the nation dealing with the fallout from the pandemic by being forced to shutter brick and mortar enterprises, having to adapt to remote and hybrid work environments and being on the frontlines of starting new businesses, as a result of workplace trends like the Great Resignation, many women and BIPOC small business owners have had to pivot and transform their business models to compete in an increasingly digital world. The WCEC E-commerce Expansion Program offers a slate of webinars, including how to build a website, an intro to Shopify, opening an Amazon store, how to improve brand SEO, how to create a winning social media campaign and more. The program aims to close the digital divide by offering women and BIPOC entrepreneurs the tools and resources necessary to thrive in a digital economy and to achieve long term economic recovery beyond the pandemic.

According to a new report from Citigroup, one of the biggest challenges women entrepreneurs face is lack of access to capital. As a result, closing the gender wealth gap and promoting gender equity across all business sectors has the potential to drive economic growth and create jobs, boosting the US economy still recovering from the pandemic.     The report states that more targeted efforts towards gender equality could generate between 288 million and 433 million jobs. However, one of the biggest drawbacks to creating pipelines for success for women entrepreneurs is that women are less likely to receive VC funding because lenders often see investment in female entrepreneurs as high risk. Women of color receive an even smaller slice of the venture capital pie with just 0.6% of US VC investments going to Black women since 2009, according to an analysis by ProjectDiane. The Citi report recommends that lenders work with associations and networks of female entrepreneurs and make gender equity a core value and top priority to level the playing field.

The WCEC has an exciting lineup of programs to honor Women's History Month, including Women's History Month: Grants and Loans webinar, with special guest speaker Elizabeth Eichhorn, Group Manager of Entrepreneur Success, IFundWomen.    In this webinar, Eichhorn will discuss helpful tips on how to use crowdfunding to grow your business and generate revenue. IFundWomen is the go-to funding marketplace for women entrepreneurs looking to raise debt-free capital through crowdfunding. IFundWomen also offers access to select grants. The webinar takes place Friday, March 25 at 1pm. To register, go here.

WCEC Executive Director, Rana Shanawani believes providing quality programs and services for women and BIPOC small business owners that cater to their specific needs is what makes the WCEC unique. "At the WCEC, we are proud to offer exciting programs that focus on e-commerce, along with a roster of top notch instructors because we understand that when we equip women entrepreneurs with the tools they need to succeed, we are supporting a vital part of our economic recovery. It's important for women to have a seat at the table and that we not only promote gender equity within our organization, but work to amplify the voices of women entrepreneurs as change makers and business leaders."

About Women's Center for Entrepreneurship
The Women's Center for Entrepreneurship (WCEC) is a registered 501c3 nonprofit. As a Small Business Administration Resource Partner, Community Navigator and Women's Business Center, the WCEC's mission is to help small businesses succeed. The WCEC Women's Business Center works with women and minority-owned businesses from the start up stage to existing small businesses looking to scale up by providing educational resources, business counseling, career training, technical assistance and COVID-19 relief loan and grant assistance. The WCEC is a recipient of the SBA Resiliency and Recovery Demonstration grant and a Silver Stevie Award Winner.

For more information on WCEC, go to https://www.wcecnj.org

Media Contact

Lelani Clark, Women's Center for Entrepreneurship, 646-389-4129, [email protected]

SOURCE Women's Center for Entrepreneurship