New York City and Citigroup Helping Female Entrepreneurs Featured
- Written By Anne Ollswang
In general, help for entrepreneurs is rarely free. The help provided by NYC and Citigroup, however, is exactly that: free services for 5,000 female entrepreneurs living in NYC. The program is called Women Entrepreneurs NYC, (WE NYC) and it is going to support businesses over the next three years.
Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen says that the program aims to help women who are underserved, but have great business ideas without the means or knowledge to take their business ideas and implement them. Services for WE NYC will be supported by the New York City Department of Small Business Services and Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses Program. Microlender Grameen America will also be helping out.
WE NYC will teach women in the program basic business skills and provide mentoring to them. Workshops and classes on negotiation and specific trades will also be provided. Their two main goals are: Increasing income stability for women and families by supporting entrepreneurship as an opportunity for supplementary income and as a pathway for long-term economic security; Strengthening the economic impact of women entrepreneurs by facilitating the growth of their companies to increase investment and create jobs in NYC.
Programs supporting entrepreneurs are increasing in numbers, but by targeting underserved women, this one is unique. Glen is hopeful: “If it works, I really think this could be a model for other cities and even for the nation.”
Women entrepreneurs have been on the rise in NYC, however male-owned companies are still ahead. The male-owned companies generated five times the revenue (on average) as their female counterparts. These results are part of a study from Citi Community Development. The study included a survey to allow the researchers to learn more about the experiences and challenges facing women who own businesses. The data will be used to shape the direction of the program and identify the areas with the biggest need. The training will deal with issues such as loans vs. venture capital and loan programs for entrepreneurs.
Citi is not new to assisting business owners grow their businesses. A $275,000 investment in Food Business Pathways, which is designed to help NY residents start and maintain food businesses, had a much larger percentage of women graduates than men. The class was not limited to women, but their interest level seemed to be higher.
The WE NYC has an advisory board with members of various business environments. Norma Kamali, clothing fashion designer, Mika Brzezinski of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, and Shelly Lazarus, former CEO of Marketing giant Ogilvy & Mather, and Debora Spar, President of Barnard College are all board members. These members will act as advisors for the program and assist in shaping the training and assistance to women from low income neighborhoods striving to become entrepreneurs.
At present there are approximately 359,000 entrepreneurial businesses owned by women in NYC. This is a 43% increase over the last twelve years. Within these businesses, most are simple, solo-employed women who only manage to take in $32,000 per year. That is why WE NYC wants to help them move forward to the next part of owning a business—growing and making a larger profit.