The Stamford-based Women”™s Business Development Council ”” with additional offices in Shelton, Danbury, Hartford and Waterbury ”” is now a microlender.
Fran Pastore, WBDC founder, president and CEO, made the announcement at the WBDC”™s 14th annual Business Breakfast recently at the Stamford Hilton.
She said the WBDC won the seal of approval of the U.S. Treasury Department and was now empowered to raise capital and lend it out in increments under $100,000.
- Paola Hernandez, left, texts a pledge to WBDC finance efforts with Fran Pastore, WBDC president, CEO and founder. Photo by Bill Fallon
The applause from the 650 in attendance had barely faded when United Bank Vice President Maureen Hanley-Bellitto said United Bank was immediately funding the effort with $100,000.
Pastore then urged attendees to use their phones as the WBDC debuted a text-to-contribute number ”” 203-446-2266 ”” and the account quickly picked up $49,000 from within the room.
The day”™s award winners were state Rep. Patricia Billie Miller, deputy speaker of the House, who won the WBDC Woman of Influence Award; Jill Hummel, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, who won the WBDC Impact Award; and entrepreneur Paola Hernandez, owner of ice cream maker TropiGlace in Stamford, who won the Deb Ziegler Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
The event”™s main sponsors were Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and United Bank. It also featured a panel discussion and a pair of breakout information sessions.
The panel consisted of entrepreneur/author and moderator Susan Solovic and panelists Amanda Brown, executive director, National Women”™s Business Council; Laura Taylor, senior director for procurement, Pitney Bowes Inc.; Beverly Dacey, president, Amodex Products Inc.; and Angela Guzman, senior manager for supplier diversity, Comcast NBC Universal.
The breakout sessions included the United Bank-sponsored “Rosie the Riveter in the 21st Century: Women Leaders in Manufacturing,” led by Waterbury-based chemical distributor Hunbbard-Hall Inc”™s President Molly Kellogg; and “Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results.,” hosted by author and Mitchell”™s Family of Stores Chairman Jack Mitchell.
Over the past year, the WBDC reported its clients have launched or expanded 395 new businesses, and maintained or added close to 900 jobs in the state, resulting in $5 million in additional tax revenue to Connecticut”™s economy.
The microlending movement, which won microloan banker Muhammad Yunus the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, can be a boon for women entrepreneurs. Among the data to surface at the breakfast: less than 1 percent of venture capital money finds women entrepreneurs.
Said Pastore, “The Wall Street Journal recently reported companies that focused on diversifying suppliers have generated a 133 percent greater return on procurement investments than the typical business. We want to help corporations based in Connecticut understand how they can strengthen and focus their businesses for optimum growth. We want women entrepreneurs and business owners to learn how they can get certified to compete for both corporate and government contracts.”
