NYC Gives Boost to Women Business Owners

The de Blasio administration and Citi are launching a new program to expand the number of women entrepreneurs with the goal of connecting 5,000 of them to free training and business services over the next three years.

Here’s Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen’s vision: a woman in the Bronx has perfected her grandmother’s mole sauce recipe so it’s good enough that people would buy it. But she hasn’t figured out how to sell it.  

“We’re going to teach you how to take that amazing mole and get into the stream of commerce. We’re going to introduce you to the people at Etsy so you can sell your mole,” Glen told WNYC.

Through the program Women Entrepreneurs NYC, dubbed WE NYC, the city’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS) will provide free training directly to new entrepreneurs. The city is also partnering with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program and micro-lender Grameen America.

Starting Thursday, information about services for aspiring entrepreneurs will be made available through new website, nyc.gov/WENYC. That’s also where women can complete an online survey about the type of services they need.

At the same time, SBS will be holding a series of forums and reaching out directly to entrepreneurs especially in underserved communities.

As the city shapes the training based on input from aspiring entrepreneurs, Glen said there are also bigger topics to be discussed, such as “whether there should be a special loan program just for women entrepreneurs? Are there pros and cons to that? Is it really about loans, is it about venture capital?”

In the months ahead, 16 leaders from across the city will advise the program including:

• Eileen Auld, Director for the New York Tri State Market, Citi Community Development
• Jonathan Bowles, Executive Director, Center for an Urban Future
• Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC Co-Host, Morning Joe
• Majora Carter, Founder, Sustainable South Bronx; CEO, StartUp Box
• Joanna Coles, Editor-in-Chief, Cosmopolitan
• Fany Gerson, Founder, La Newyorkina Mexican Ice & Sweets; Co-owner, Dough
• Patti Greene, Paul T. Babson Chair in Entrepreneurship, Babson College
• Andrea Jung, President & CEO, Grameen America
• Norma Kamali, Fashion Designer
• Shelly Lazarus, Chairman Emeritus, Ogilvy & Mather
• Ana Oliviera, President & CEO, NY Women's Foundation
• Paul Quintero, CEO, Accion East
• Jessamyn Rodriguez, CEO, Hot Bread Kitchen
• Cristina Shapiro, Vice President, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses
• Debora Spar, President, Barnard College
• Sheena Wright, CEO, United Way of New York City