Davids Highlights Passage of Her Bill to Support Women Entrepreneurs at Local Woman-Owned Business
OVERLAND PARK, KS -- Today, Representative Sharice Davids toured The Culinary Center of Kansas City, a local woman-owned business and client of the Kansas City Women's Business Center (WBC). Davids' visit follows House passage of her bipartisan bill, the Women's Business Centers Improvement Act, which would increase access to resources and opportunities for female entrepreneurs in Kansas and across the country. In 2021, the Kansas City WBC assisted 513 local small business owners with counseling, training, and resources.
"Investing in women means investing in our entire economy," said Davids. "Countless business owners I've spoken with, including the Culinary Center, sing the praises of our local Women's Business Center for the training, support, and counseling they provide. It was great to see that today and I will continue supporting their efforts through this bipartisan legislation."
Additional B-Roll and Photos available for media use here.
The Women's Business Center (WBC) program was established to help women entrepreneurs succeed. It now boasts 150 locations throughout the U.S., including the Kansas City WBC, and serves over 88,000 business owners annually. Women-owned businesses in general employ 9.4 million people nationwide and contribute $1.2 trillion to our economy each year. In the Kansas Third, more than 3,500 women-owned small businesses received loans or assistance from the federal government in FY 2021.
Davids' bipartisan Women's Business Centers Improvement Act reauthorizes the WBC program for four years, increases the authorization level from $18 million annually to $31.5 million, and increases the cap on individual center grants for the first time since the program began. The bill also establishes an accreditation program run by the Association of Women's Business Centers to ensure all WBCs provide excellent service and counseling. The bill was passed earlier this year and awaits a vote in the Senate.
"I've seen women come a very long way in business, although there is definitely some work to do in order to gain full equality," said Laura Laiben, owner of The Culinary Center of Kansas City and past client of the KC WBC. "When we realize our differences, big strides can be made to support women entrepreneurs on their journeys to success. The Women's Business Center understands these differences and has crafted programs to provide for this kind of targeted support."
"During the pandemic, all small business owners were forced to make sacrifices in order to keep their business afloat, but women entrepreneurs in particular felt the negative effects the hardest," said Sherry Turner, Executive Director of the Kansas City Women's Business Center. "Representative Davids has proved many times her dedication to supporting women-owned businesses in Kansas, and her legislation would ensure these entrepreneurs can continue being a driving force in our economy."
"Earlier this year, the bipartisan support and leadership in the House of Representatives around H.R.6441, the Women's Business Centers Improvement Act of 2022, introduced by Representatives Sharice Davids and Claudia Tenney, was a critical component for House passage. We applaud these Congresswomen's leadership in ensuring that women business owners have the necessary resources will enable them to survive, grow, and thrive," said Corinne Goble Hodges, CEO of Association Womens' Business Centers.
The Kansas City WBC serves Kansas entrepreneurs through trainings, workshops, counseling, and access to capital programs targeted at female business owners. Davids visited the Kansas City WBC earlier this year, holding a roundtable with several local business owners who have worked with the center to build their companies.