Today, the National Women’s Business Council Chair Carla Harris will keynote a crowdfunding webinar hosted by Business Forward— an organization well known for bringing more than 3,000 business leaders to the White House to brief the President’s economic advisors. On May 27th at 3:30pm Business Forward will host a Crowdfunding webinar targeting start-ups and women-led businesses.

“Access to capital remains a critical issue for women entrepreneurs, our research shows there’s a direct correlation between access to capital and revenue generation. We see crowdfunding as a key resource in advancing women’s access to capital, says NWBC Chair Carla Harris.

Crowdfunding is now a resource that’s in everyone’s purview. Crowdfunding gives women access to funders outside of the typical venture capitalists networks, allowing increased opportunities for women entrepreneurs to access capital on their own terms.”

This issue of undercapitalization remains a barrier for women entrepreneurs. We must change this. Crowdfunding is a path forward: a game changer for the industry, and for women in particular. Crowdfunding is proving to be a key resource in advancing women’s access to capital. Consider these numbers:

• Indiegogo, a popular crowdfunding platform, indicates that 42% of its crowdfunding campaigns are run by women and women are raising more than men both in terms of the number of contributions and amount of money.
• Since the creation of the JOBS Act, Crowdfunding has created 1,500 to 2,000 jobs, according to Heather Lopes, CEO of EarlyShares, an equity based crowdfunding platform.
• The crowdfunding market could be worth $4.6 billion annually in five years, according to research conducted by Crowdfund Capital Advisors and the University of California, Berkley.

The National Women’s Business Council continues to be a leading voice in advancing women entrepreneurs. For more details and to register for the crowdfunding webinar, view here: attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5580370413953523202

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Contact: Krystal Glass

Communications Director
National Women’s Business Council
Krystal.Glass@nwbc.gov
O: 202.205.6829