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Report on Capital Access for Women Offers Policy Recommendations, Best Practices |
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Model programs that provide women entrepreneurs access to capital were discussed by a panel of researchers and practitioners at the annual conference of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity today. The discussion focused on an Urban Institute report identifying key elements of successful programs, ranging from microenterprise incubators to venture capital funds. Although there has been a proliferation of these programs over the past decade, and the number of women starting businesses has grown dramatically, women entrepreneurs still lag behind men in obtaining capital for their businesses. The Urban Institute report identifies characteristics that contribute to success and reviews constraints and barriers that remain. The report draws policy recommendations based on profiles of 13 best-practice and 3 "promising practice" programs at community organizations, banks, and venture capital funds across the nation. "The programs offer examples that should stimulate discussion among capital providers and others about ways to expand and improve opportunities for women entrepreneurs," said Pindus, chair of the panel. National banks could establish alternative credit evaluation procedures or have community loan officers who can handle individual loan evaluations outside of the credit scoring system. Policymakers could support evaluation of microenterprise programs as an employment and training resource and provide funding on the same basis as other work-related programs. Smaller programs could increase their scale and scope through partnerships and other means. They could also develop entrepreneurship pathways and assist their small-business clients with sales and marketing guidance.
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