Sam’s Club has announced a $2.5 million grant from their giving program to grow women-owned businesses and jumpstart job creation.
Company CEO and President Rosalind Brewer made the announcement at the 2014 Catalyst Awards Conference in New York.
A news release put out by Sam’s Club says the grants awarded to three leading non-
profit organizations creates the WE Lend Initiative, a two-year investment in strengthening Small Business Administration-recognized Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), which will increase access to affordable loans and innovative training to hundreds of women entrepreneurs.
The WE Lend Initiative leverages the powerful networks and expertise of three national organizations dedicated to small business prosperity and growth.
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Brewer says, “Lack of access to capital and financing continues to be a leading deterrent to success for U.S. women-owned businesses. The WE Lend Initiative seeks to bridge this financing gap and empower women entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. We are excited to support our grantees and the Small Business Administration to advance Women’s Business Centers and provide hundreds of women-owned businesses with effective training and microlending resources.”
According to new data from the Sam’s Club Gallup Microbusiness Tracker, released this week, women remain a key growth sector in the area of microbusiness, defined as firms with fewer than five employees. Women are more likely to be owners of the newest small businesses and 67 percent are still relying on personal savings to finance their business. Fifty-eight percent of women business-owners say having healthy a cash reserve is a major business concern.
The News release also directs Women’s Business Centers who wish to apply to to receive WE Lend Initiative training, capital and support to log on to WE-LendInitiative.org