Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
The last fiscal year found WomenVenture engaging with our clients and community through new strategic initiatives including advocacy work as a member of the Minnesota Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Coalition and directly with US and state legislators resulting in $2M state appropriation fueling efforts in child care and food businesses; returning to in-person courses for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began; delivering nearly $2 million in affordable capital; and reimagining our workplace to increase employee satisfaction and retention. These intentional actions put WomenVenture at the forefront of addressing systemic
barriers through empowering our staff to work directly with socially and economically disadvantaged individuals whose businesses can be strengthened through WomenVenture’s programs.
Every day, the team at WomenVenture is laser focused on our mission to empower women to achieve their economic goals by building profitable and sustainable businesses that transform communities.
Our clients, volunteers, and supporters make this mission a reality. In the last year, we supported more than 1,200 clients through lending and training programs and provided more than 13,000 hours of training and consulting hours combined. WomenVenture clients created nearly 500 jobs, and 75 small businesses launched enacting positive change within their communities and our state’s economy.
Our client demographics comprised of:
98% of FY23 loans were deployed to women-owned businesses
64% of FY23 loans were deployed to minority-owned clients
98.3% loan repayment success rate
Current Goals
During the next few years, WomenVenture will focus on modernization, innovation, and expansion. This commitment will be delivered through exceptional client service, build on our financial strength, and become the employer of choice in our space. We also believe this focus directly improves critical client outcomes such as increased owner wages, better return to the economy, and a more diverse client population. Our focus and our expected outcomes cement WomenVenture as the partner of choice for aspiring and established business owners and entrepreneurs.
Community or Constituency Served
Today, the majority of our WomenVenture’s clients are diverse comprised of mostly women, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs looking to start a new business or expand their business to a new level of growth and profit. We are a known advocate and trusted advisor within the Twin Cities and Minnesota business ecosystem to support both early-stage and maturing-stage (success, take-off, and resource maturity) of socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Women who also identify as BIPOC, disabled, low-income, LGBTQ face a unique set of barriers compared to their male counterparts.
Geographic Area Served
WomenVenture is located in St. Paul, Minnesota. WomenVenture’s training and consulting services are available to entrepreneurs across Minnesota. Our lending products provide accessible pathways to capital for underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities Metro region. We also offer food and childcare business lending opportunities that are available statewide.
