This is an exciting time to be a woman business owner. Women are starting new firms at twice the rate of all other businesses and own nearly 40% of all firms in the U.S. In doing so, women-owned businesses continue to distinguish themselves as one of the fastest growing sectors of the American economy. For Rhode Island, women’s businesses are vital to the State’s economy. According to a study conducted by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, the number of women owned businesses increased by 47% during 1987 to 1996. Additionally, the number of employees in these firms increased by 104%, while sales generated increased by 122%. Women-owned firms in Rhode Island employ more than 133,000 workers and generate nearly $16 billion in sales.
These statistics confirm the rising power of female entrepreneurs.
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The Small Business Administration has responded to the rapid growth of women-owned businesses by creating more than 80 Women’s Business Assistance Centers in 47 states.
In Rhode Island, the Center for Women & Enterprise has been established as one of the newest SBA Women’s Business Assistance Centers designed to help women entrepreneurs succeed.
CWE has received an SBA grant of $750,000 to operate over a five-year period and will match the SBA funding through private contributions and corporate sponsorships. As a founding corporate sponsor, FleetBoston Financial has contributed $100,000 in private funding for the first year of the Center’s operation.
The Center for Women & Enterprise’s mission is to empower women to become economically self-sufficient and prosperous through entrepreneurship. CWE offers education, training, technical assistance and access to both debt and equity capital to entrepreneurs at every stage of business development. CWE clients come from a wide range of racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds, spanning the range from women living in public housing who may want to start home-based or small retail businesses to women running fast growth, multi-million dollar Internet businesses. As a non-profit, charitable organization, CWE provides its services on a sliding-scale basis in order to serve all women, regardless of their ability to pay.
CWE Providence provides technology resources and training to women starting up businesses, narrowing a crucial competitive disadvantage that is common to new businesses, especially those enterprises started by low-income women.
At CWE Providence, Internet, e-commerce and web page development instruction will be featured, along with training in spreadsheet, bookkeeping and accounting business applications.
The Center for Women & Enterprise is moving from their temporary quarters at the Rhode Island SBA office to their permanent office at 55 Claverick Street in Providence.
There the Center will provide one-stop women’s business assistance by devloping space for a SBA Business Information Center, and housing offices for SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) and the state’s Small Business Development Center.
For more information about CWE Providence call (401) 528-4595.
