Atlanta’s Women Entrepreneurship Initiative (WEI), a business incubator for early-stage, women-owned businesses, will offer programs and resources specific to women throughout the month of March – furthering its mission to provide unprecedented access to the human, educational and financial capital critical to empowering company-building entrepreneurs.

This month, WEI will host a panel on International Women’s Day to share entrepreneurship tools from Invest Atlanta’s Resurgence Grant Fund; launch its podcast “Why Atlanta?;” host a hackathon to increase capital investments in women; and welcome the 15 members of its fourth cohort, who will benefit from co-working space in downtown Atlanta’s historic Flatiron Building for the 15-month program that includes business education, financial literacy, marketing and branding strategies, as well as other types of mentor and peer support.

The only municipally funded program of its kind in the nation, WEI launched in 2015 with the support of the City of Atlanta and Invest Atlanta. The incubator fosters and promotes community and spurs business growth for female entrepreneurs in a wide range of industries from AgTech to healthcare to retail to construction.

According to statistics, women have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Progress Organization found that four times as many women as men dropped out of the labor force in September 2020, roughly 865,000 women compared with 216,000 men. And as of February 2022, the cumulative number has increased to 2.3 million.

To answer this need, WEI launched its Women in the Workplace platform in 2021 to identify, mobilize, and spotlight prime partner solutions targeting gaps in Atlanta’s underserved communities made evident by the COVID-19 pandemic with five main areas of focus: Economic Mobility; Mental Health; Entrepreneurship; Families & Childcare; and Capital Investment & Resource Allotment.

“We took immediate note of how intensely women-owned businesses have been affected by the pandemic and determined that we must be a part of the solution in turning things around,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, CEO of Invest Atlanta. “According to the U.S. Census 2019 Annual Business Survey, women entrepreneurs operate roughly 12 million businesses, employ more than 10 million people, and account for more than $1.3 trillion in revenue. As a leader in delivering economic development resources for women entrepreneurs, WEI’s focus remains on empowering women in business and helping them to succeed.

Since its inception, WEI businesses have created more than 600 jobs for the City of Atlanta and WEI entrepreneurs have garnered more than $4 in capital investment.

“Women’s History Month provides yet another opportunity for the WEI program to continue building solutions, driving innovation while highlighting Atlanta’s women owned startups,” said Monica Delores Hooks, executive director of WEI.

To register for events, visit www.weiatlanta.com/womenintheworkplace.

Women’s History Month Programming

• March 9^th - International Women’s Day Panel (WCC) “Entrepreneurship Tools from Invest Atlanta’s Resurgence Grant Fund program”
• March 25^th – 27^th - Invest Atlanta “Govathon at The Lola: Increasing Capital Investments in Women” relaunch of The Atlanta Demonstration Project sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal The Farm
• March 31^st - “Why Atlanta?” Podcast Launch, featuring a collection of conversations on the history and future of Atlanta supporting women in business.