Commentary: SBA’s new Ascent offers numerous resources for female entrepreneurs

2021 marks the 101st anniversary of women’s suffrage. In just a century, women have made great strides toward equality since earning the right to vote. Indeed, on the entrepreneurship front, women today own or co-own 45% of businesses in the United States. But even today, woman-owned small businesses make up only approximately 4% of total small-business revenue.

So what does this mean? It means work remains to be done.

As I see it, a vital role of the federal government, particularly the Small Business Administration, is to provide an environment where small businesses of all stripes have an even playing field to carve out their own startup story of growth and success. Our programs help put success within reach for mainstream and underserved entrepreneurs — female business professionals, along with people of color and rural communities. I am proud to report that, within that framework, 2021 looks to be a banner year for programs and services aimed at closing the gaps and breaking down barriers for female entrepreneurs.

The SBA recently launched its online Ascent platform aimed at female entrepreneurs wanting to grow and scale their small businesses. It lets female business owners chart their own learning course to start and boost their small businesses. Ascent offers exercises and tools, expert insights and more, and you can access it via the SBA’s website. It is aimed at female entrepreneurs, but anyone will find the tool useful in planning a startup or guiding an existing business along a smoother path to profitability.

Meanwhile, Congress aims to help level the playing field for female entrepreneurs by specifically goaling the award of federal government contracting dollars to federally certified women-owned small businesses. The federal government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, bar none. Every year, the federal government buys over $500 billion in goods and services, with approximately $400 billion spent domestically. Every year, Congress goals the federal government to award 23% of its contracting dollars given stateside to small businesses, and 5% of that 23% is specifically targeted to go to federally certified women-owned small businesses. That goal translates into vast opportunity for female entrepreneurs. The first step for them to tap into that opportunity is to log in to beta.certify.sba.gov to obtain the federal women-owned small-business (WOSB) certification or economically disadvantaged women-owned small-business (EDWOSB) certification, which allow participation in the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program. Visit the SBA website for more details on the certifications and programs. And visit the SBA Delaware website for a calendar of its upcoming, free-of-charge virtual workshops on doing business with the federal government, including programming specifically covering eligibility, the application process and the benefits of WOSB and EDWOSB certification.

Finally, SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership (OWBO) champions female entrepreneurs’ vital place in the American economy. OWBO connects female entrepreneurs with business training and counseling, access to credit and capital and marketing opportunities, including federal contracts. In 1988, OWBO established the Women’s Business Center Program to support “boots on the ground” efforts to provide resources for female entrepreneurship in communities across the country. Here in Delaware, the Women’s Business Center at True Access Capital provides that support. Visit its website for a menu of its programs and services, both this Women’s History Month and beyond.

Across the board, entrepreneurship can be a “game changer.” Small-business ownership is a great equalizer — regardless of wealth, status, credentials, education or gender, successful small-business ownership puts the American dream within reach for those ready to work for it given an even playing field. And — with Ascent’s nationwide launch, the rise of SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program and the Women’s Business Center at True Access Capital’s front-line resources here in Delaware — SBA’s commitment to leveling the playing field for female entrepreneurs remains as strong as ever.

John Fleming is the Small Business Administration’s Delaware District director.