The MUFG Union Bank Foundation today announced the launch of WE CAN (Women’s Entrepreneurship Capacity building, Advocacy support, Nurturing growth) Initiative. The two-year $500,000 women’s entrepreneurship and small business effort will help build capacity for under-resourced Women Small Business Centers (WBCs) in California.
Women’s Small Business Centers are critically important to building a strong pipeline of women-owned businesses who are key to building the economic vitality of California. WE CAN will focus on three key pillars: leadership, training and advocacy. In partnership with the Women’s Business Network, and the California’s statewide microenterprise association (CAMEO), WE CAN will support to the women’s small business ecosystem so that women-owned companies can grow and prosper. Investments News
California has the greatest number of women business owners in the nation at 1.5 million. Despite women’s contributions to local economies, investment in and training for women-owned business centers has remained stagnant.
WE CAN will provide resources to six WBCs
- The California Capital Women’s Business Center (Sacramento)
- San Diego Women’s Business Center (San Diego)
- Mission Community Services Corp. Women’s Business Center (Monterey)
- Inland Empire Women’s Business Center (Riverside)
- Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center (San Francisco/Richmond)
- Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program Women’s Business Center (Los Angeles)
The Women’s Business Network, which is the unifying voice for the WBCs across California, will receive support to drive network collaboration and education about the value of the women’s business center network to effectively serve and support women-owned businesses.
Resources will be directed to CAMEO for direct training around outcomes measurement, digital enablement, marketing, and access to capital as well as 1:1 mentoring and coaching.
The Associate Regional Director for the San Diego & Imperial Women’s Business Center Danny Fitzgerald says, “WBCs are a hidden gem, providing tailored services that help women entrepreneurs. Our partnership with the MUFG Union Bank Foundation will enable the Women’s Business Center Network to educate community leaders about the impact of these services and the vital role such services have at the local and state level to drive business and economic development.”
“Union Bank has a long legacy of supporting the small business community within our West Coast footprint, and that’s what makes WE CAN so incredibly important for us. It’s an opportunity to continue our unyielding commitment to women entrepreneurs,” said MUFG Union Bank Foundation Chief Operating Officer Kathy Patoff.
