The launch of the AEO (Association for Enterprise Opportunity) Regional Councils convening at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on 20th November 2024 continued throughout the day with the Great Lakes region, Wisconsin taking center stage.
WENDY BAUMAN, WISCONSIN WOMEN’S BUSINESS INITIATIVE CORPORATION (WWBIC) 2024 KEYNOTE
For over thirty years, The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) has acknowledged the core requirements of micro business owners seeking new ways to access business information, technology, business education and financial opportunities. 2024 President/CVO (Chief Visionary Officer) Wendy Baumann introduced this proactive business center for women at the heart of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin business ecosystem to attendees, keen to explore enterprising initiatives at the heart of the Great Lakes. Bauman delivered her diligent Keynote by expressing the extent to which the center pushes for the advancement and increased opportunities for women and black entrepreneurs, via the low-income capital access program underpinned by its mission; “Putting Dreams to Work.”
From 1987 to date, the WWBIC has delivered a wide range of services to in excess of 76,923 business focused residents together with approving loans to the value of over $125 million to small business owners. In turn, WWBIC’s technical and capital contributions have delivered significant impact on local economies and regional workforce planning programs with circa 15,734 jobs created amongst 10,827 businesses.
The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) 2024 President/CVO (Chief Visionary Officer) Wendy Baumann also highlighted the importance of the “Women’s Empowerment Unit,” destined to invigorate women’s entrepreneurial networks with attainable access to “responsible capital,” starting from $10k.
WWBIC 2024 PRESIDENT/CVO WENDY BAUMANN PUSHES FOR SUPPORT FOR BLACK AND NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBE BUSINESSES
Wendy Bauman, the 2024 WWBIC President/CVO (Chief Visionary Officer), celebrated the inauguration of the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation’s sixth office in Wisconsin with emphasis on Native American Tribes, and explained how inequity continues to proliferate. The WWBIC business community research indicates that 92% of women in Wisconsin who seek assistance from the WWBIC identify as African American women or women of color, together with veterans, 75% of whom derive from low-income families.
45TH MAYOR OF WISCONSIN, MAYOR CAVALIER JOHNSON SHARES HIS SUPPORT
During her keynote, Wendy Bauman, 2024 WWBIC President/CVO (Chief Visionary Officer thanked the Wisconsin Mayor’s office’s continuous dedication to support small businesses under the leadership of the “very accessible” 45th Mayor of Wisconsin, Mayor Cavalier Johnson. Mayor Johnson is the 2022 special election winner, becoming the first elected African American Mayor of Milwaukee (after Marvin Pratt who served as the first black acting Mayor in 2004).
After 31 years of service at the WWBIC, the truly enigmatic and unforgettable CDFI 2024 leader Wendy Bauman has consistently championed the need for mission-based lending, alongside small business technical assistance. The strength of community banks working in conjunction with credit unions was communicated in Bauman’s keynote as an essential tool to be deployed within hubs such as the Black Business Hub. As Wendy Bauman’s legendary 31 years of relentless commitment to the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation comes to an end, her mission will continue under the recently appointed (as of 1st May 2025), President / CVO (Chief Visionary Officer) Kathryn Dunn.
The WWBIC (Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation) is an A-*** Aeris-rated CDFI (community development financial institution). The WWBIC is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development as well as many other state and local entities, financial institutions, private foundations, investors and individual donors.
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