Mayor Sly James commits $10K for women in business efforts
September 23, 2015 | Ashley Jost
Kansas City Mayor Sly James recently announced two initiatives to benefit women in business and in science, technology, engineering and math fields.
Mayor James
James pledged $10,000 toward the Women’s Business Center‘s “WE-Lend Microloan Program,” which supports women-owned businesses in Kansas City, Mo., through funding, technical assistance and access to a financial coach. The mayor also announced additional support for the national Million Women Mentors initiative that aims to find mentors for girls and young women in STEM fields.
Both moves are apart of the mayor’s Women’s Empowerment Initiative, which James launched on March 27 with the Central Exchange, Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Women’s Center.
“If Kansas City is truly going to be the tech-hub of the Midwest, we have to continue developing the next generation of tech leaders, and that has to include women and girls,” James said in a news release.
The initiative’s goal is to find one million mentors by 2018 for girls and young women nationally who are interested in STEM careers. Mentoring, James said, helps close the already small gap in the number of women in STEM careers who leave their jobs.
Featured Business
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Fast-growing Wardy connects fashion, film industries
Sometimes, niche is best. At least that rationale is working well for Wardy, a Kansas City-area firm whose tech is connecting the film and fashion industries and finding traction around the country. Wardy president Chris Palmer said that his Lee’s Summit-based company’s mobile- and web-based app is designed to save time for costume designers, a…
U.S. Secretary of Commerce praises KC entrepreneurship
A member of President Obama’s cabinet met with local entrepreneurs Tuesday to discuss how federal funds have helped accelerate their businesses, and in turn grow Kansas City. In a stop to Kansas City during the National Council of La Raza, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker met with companies that have participated in business incubator…
KC tech firm’s video app records $600K
A local tech firm is planning to accelerate development of its mobile video application thanks to some new funding. Kansas City-based Digital Legacy landed $600,000 in May to fund the creation of its “VideoFizz” app, which allows a group of users to collaborate on a personalized video message for birthdays, anniversaries and other special events. Missouri…
The future’s around the corner at KC’s Compute Midwest
Bold ideas with the promise to revolutionize tomorrow are heading to the City of Fountains for a growing technology conference. Now in its fourth year, Compute Midwest is set to explore technologies and ideas transforming the future, including space travel, self-driving cars and artificial intelligence. In addition to learning about the latest in technology, Compute…