Testimony of Antonella Pianalto on behalf of the Association of Women’s Business Centers to the US House of Representatives Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology, October 12,2017

Antonella Pianalto; AWBC's photo

Fostering Women’s Entrepreneurial Success

Thank you, Chairman Radewagen, Ranking Member Lawson and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee for the opportunity to share this testimony with you. My name is Antonella Pianalto, and I serve as the President & CEO of the Association of Women’s Business Centers.

The Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC) supports the national network of Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) by providing training, mentoring, programming, and advocacy with the goal of improving services to women entrepreneurs. The AWBC’s membership includes every WBC throughout the United States.

As you know, the Women’s Business Center program is a public-private partnership with nearly 30 years of success in providing training, counseling, mentoring, and access to capital to women entrepreneurs across the country. Our network reaches into communities – urban and rural alike – to assist America’s job creators in launching and growing their own businesses.

Women’s Business Centers are focused on being an effective and efficient resource for one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. Our continued growth leaves an enormous footprint of successful business owners and job creators. In fiscal year 2016, our centers reached more than 145,000 clients leading to more than 17,000 new businesses and nearly 25,000 new jobs.  In 2015, the most recent data, WBCs assisted with nearly $429 million in private capital infusion and last year helped to secure nearly $40 million in government contracts for women-owned businesses.

First, let me thank the subcommittee for holding this hearing today. It is especially fitting to hold it during National Women’s Small Business Month when we recognize the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs, acknowledge existing challenges, and highlight resources available — including our own members, women business centers.

Creating an environment where women can start and grow businesses has always been a vital part of our economic security. Today that is truer than ever, with women starting ventures at four times the rate of men.  Their success is vital to the US economy as women-owned businesses have a significant impact on their local communities and collectively drive growth and create jobs.

Today’s testimony briefly provides our perspective on women’s entrepreneurship in 2017, the enormous potential of fostering a stronger environment for women business owners, barriers to achieving that potential, the role of WBCs, as well as policy recommendations for this Committee to consider. Before addressing those, however, a recent statistic captures the truly impressive scope of women entrepreneurs: if American women business owners were their own country, they would have the 10th largest GDP in the world, outstripping entire nations like Canada, Mexico and even Russia. 

Women Entrepreneurship Today

The most recent federal data, collated from the U.S. Census 2012 Survey of Business Owners, captures a snapshot of the explosion of women entrepreneurs. The census found 9.9 million women business owners in 2012 with $1.4 trillion in annual receipts — an 18.7% increase from 2007. The number of small businesses owned by women grew by 26.8%, compared to 1.9% for all firms; put another way, from 2007-2012, there were 1,143 woman-owned businesses started each day.

From our own perspective as advisors to these firms, we can confirm that the explosion of women business owners occurred across the spectrum of businesses, as is reflected in the clients’ stages of businesses served by the WBCs: 15% start-ups, 28% 1-4 years, 31% 5-10 years, and 26% 11+ years.

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