The Center for Women & Enterprise Helping Businesses Prosper 

Did you know that women have a huge impact on household earnings? Currently, 65% of households depend upon a woman’s income. Therefore, supporting women owned and women run businesses is critical to our local and national economy. 

North Shore Conversations radio broadcast recently spoke with Gaby King Morse, CEO of the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE). She shared how CWE provides opportunities for women entrepreneurs and women in business to increase their professional success, personal growth, and financial independence.

What is the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE)? 

Living by the motto, “We lift up the women, who lift up the world,” the Center for Women and Enterprise has dedicated itself to helping people start and grow their businesses for over 26 years. 

CWE is an economic empowerment organization geared toward women owned and women run businesses. Along with assisting aspiring female entrepreneurs, CWE also operates the Veterans Business Outreach Center of New England (VBOC of NE) that focuses on assisting veterans, active duty service members, and their families with starting and growing their business.

What Kind of Assistance Can CWE Offer? 

Started in 1994 by Andrea Silbert in 1994, the CWE began with the mission of assisting women entrepreneurs. Over the years the women they have helped range from starting small, home-based businesses to women running multi-million dollar businesses. 

More recently (2016), the CWE started offering expanded services to veterans. In partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the CWE expanded its services to the Veterans Business Outreach Center of New England. 

Services for aspiring entrepreneurs just starting out include: education and training, online courses, financial education and support, networking assistance, matchmaking with mentors in your field, and specialized consulting to get a business off the ground. 

Services for established businesses looking to grow include: community classrooms where experienced advisors help women connect with the additional help they need, courses, training, mentoring, matchmaking, and consulting. Additionally, confirmed women owned and run businesses can become eligible for certification in three areas: Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) in the private sector, Women Owned Small Business (WOSB-Federal) in the public sector, and SDO-OSD Massachusetts State (WBE-State) for the state of Massachusetts. 

What Impact Has CWE Had on Businesses?

Over the past two decades the CWE has grown from an idea of supporting women in business to a successful program with five offices across the New England area including: Eastern and Central Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Online courses and resources have the ability to reach even further beyond these local offices. 

To get a better idea of how the CWE has grown, one only needs to look at the impact it had over the past year as compared to a normal (non pandemic) year. Traditionally the CWE serves approximately four thousand people to start or grow their business dream. In 2020, the numbers more than doubled, with approximately eight thousand people accessing the services such as help with PPP loans and renegotiating leases for store fronts. 

Statistically, here are a few numbers to show the positive impact that the CWE has made in our region in the past year. 

• 470 women-owned businesses CWE certified through the WBENC certification program
• $59 Million worth of wages generated
• Over 10 thousand people who have accessed programs and/or services
• Over 2K jobs created through nurturing of CWE

For more on the resources provided by the CWE or success stories check out their website at https://www.cweonline.org/.