The Women”™s Business Development Council (WBDC) has been recognized by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc. of Rocky Hill as one of the state”™s top economic development programs.
“Fran Pastore and WBDC continue to be a champions for women owned businesses in Stamford,” said Stamford”™s Mayor David Martin in a statement.
The development council was honored at the economic resource center”™s annual Celebrate CT event as a result of their contributions to the state and local economy this year including adding 395 new businesses, maintaining or adding close to 900 jobs and generating $5 million in tax revenue into Connecticut”™s economy in 2015, according to the economic resource center.
“WBDC is honored to receive this award as we continue to enable women to build their own economic equity which strengthens their lives, their families, their communities and the state of Connecticut,” said Fran Pastore, founder, president and CEO of the Women”™s Business Development Council.
Based in Stamford, the development council supports economic prosperity for women and the strengthening of communities through entrepreneurial and financial education services.
The recognition follows several initiatives by the development council this year, including the establishment the state”™s first micro-lending fund for women, by women, as well as providing programs and services in over 20 towns and the opening of a fifth office in Hartford.
Additionally, the development council launched an online Remote Learning Hub allowing for access to training and education, as well as a Spanish language initiative.
The group”™s efforts to expand access to lending were lauded as much-needed resources for start-up businesses by Stamford”™s Director of Economic Development, Thomas Madden.
“It is particularly hard for newly-formed businesses or those small business looking to expand to access small scale capital loans,” he said. “WBDC”™s microloan program will now allow businesses, which do not have access to traditional sources of credit, to be able to grow and expand.”
