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
KC, Chattanooga tap into gigabit speeds for film contest
Ready your cameras, Kansas City. You’re serving as lead videographer in a community film contest that engages creative types and leverages the area’s high-speed, gigabit Internet. Kansas City has partnered with the City of Chattanooga, Tenn., for the “Capture: A Community Filmmaking Project,” a 48-hour project calling on citizens and film professionals to create short,…
Digital Sandbox welcomes six new startups
Digital Sandbox KC recently accepted six area companies into its incubator program that assists businesses with specific projects. The organization, whose mission is to develop businesses and help them secure additional funding, welcomed companies ranging from food service and technology to education and health. Digital Sandbox invests up to $25,000 in its program’s companies. “The…
Reboot U revives tech talent for KC startup
A growing event photography company in Kansas City is looking to the past to find the tech talent it needs to build its future. SportsPhotos.com founder Brandon Schatz is a small-business participant in the Full Employment Council’s “Reboot U” program, which provides technology training for the chronically unemployed. Schatz’s company manages photos for sporting events,…
Product Hunt enters KC market, offers onboard for entrepreneurs
A popular international product discovery platform is hoping to engage more tech entrepreneurs in the Kansas City area. Product Hunt — a website that features new products such as apps, hardware and other tech creations — recently launched a series of meetings in Kansas City in hopes of garnering more products from the area for…