In today’s modern world of business, there is a significant emphasis on diversity and inclusion. Women-owned businesses have made huge strides in recent years. This is all down to the individual owners’ incredible work and the support from organizations like WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council). WBENC and similar organizations play a pivotal role in empowering and promoting these types of businesses.

In this blog, we are going to cover the role of WBENC in the growth and further success of women-owned businesses, their broader impact on society and how you can become WBENC-accredited.

So What Is WBENC?

WBENC are the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in America, they’re a non-profit organization founded in 1997 that is committed to helping with growth, development and success for women-owned businesses in the business world.

Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification is an accreditation that can be held by any business that is majority-owned by a woman or multiple women. This accreditation is the most widely recognized and respected national gold standard certification for women-owned, managed or operated businesses. It’s accepted by thousands of corporations that represent some of the most prestigious brands in the USA 🇺🇸 and opens doors to numerous opportunities so many opportunities including major contracts with huge businesses or perhaps working with major businesses that want to diversify their supplier base and workforce.

WBENC’s Role in Empowering Women Entrepreneurs

Certification and Networking Opportunities

When a women-owned business or entrepreneur holds a WBENC accreditation they enhance their credibility and visibility in the marketplace. The WBENC certification provides access to networking opportunities with major corporate and governing partners. Which in turn can lead to great business connections and collaborations.

Procurement Opportunities

A ton of businesses are trying to push for more and more diversity across their supply chains and using a women-owned supplier is one way to add diversity into their business. Therefore, WBENC opens doors for accredited businesses to gain access to procurement opportunities with these major corporations.

Training Programs

WBENC isn’t just great for new business opportunities, they also provide a vast amount of educational and training programs, that are specifically tailored toward women-owned businesses. These programs aim to develop and contribute toward the success of WBENC-accredited businesses and cover a huge range of topics.

Benefits of The Accreditation For Women-Owned Businesses

Increased Job Availability

Although all flourishing and expanding businesses provide increased job availability. For the sake of this blog, we are focusing purely on women-owned businesses, and how they have the same economic impact on their community and nation as a whole in terms of job creation and economic growth.

Enhanced Visibility and  Credibility

When you hold a WBENC accreditation, it means you commit to a high level of excellence and delivering high-quality service and/or products. Therefore, being WBENC-certified gives a business an extra level of credibility and visibility to potential clients, partners and investors.

Business Growth and Development

Due to the procurement and networking opportunities made readily available through being WBENC accredited, women-owned businesses can scale their business at a rapid rate. Networking in itself is super powerful. This is because growing a network of vendors and building upon relationships is very valuable in all industries.

Guidance

Women entrepreneurs within WBENC that hold the accreditation have a great communication network with each other. Everyone can share their stories and inspire one another. Successful individuals almost become mentors and can guide each other through any struggles or difficulties they may have, or just offer some friendly advice.

WBENC’s Impact on Society

Gender Gap

The work that WBENC and similar organizations do and work towards plays a huge role in narrowing the gender gap, within the world of business. Through empowering women and entrepreneurs and helping with their success. WBENC challenges traditional gender roles which you could say is what we’ve done at PEI being a women-owned logistics business.

Diversity and Inclusion

With a high level of diversity, businesses can benefit from seeing all different approaches, ideas and perspectives from a range of different backgrounds. Which WBENC promotes across all industries.

How To Get WBENC Accredited?

Eligibility

For a business to be eligible for consideration of the WBENC accreditation, it must be:

• At least 51% owned by a woman or multiple women.
• Proof of female management and control.
• Female control of business in legal documents.
• A woman holding the highest title in the company’s legal documentation.
• Evidence that a woman or women contributed to the business capital and funds.
• The majority owner must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Process of Application

Obtaining the accreditation is no easy feat, which is why it’s proudly considered a gold standard certification. So, to become an accredited business you must undergo a thorough vetting process, including documentation reviews, plus a site visit. There are very specific instructions to apply on their website

Conclusion

If you’re a woman-owned business or know of any businesses that are and want to know more, why not head over to their website and see if you’re eligible and get the ball rolling 😁 Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification is a great opportunity for growth, networking and marketing of your business. They provide opportunities that are unequivocally valuable in succeeding in today’s competitive business landscape. This isn’t to say that women cannot be successful in their business without being WBENC accredited. We are also by no means saying that WBENC is accountable for the entire success of currently accredited businesses. However, WBENC should be recognised as a fantastic tool to help women entrepreneurs, in all sorts of ways, including training, networking, visibility and credibility.

We’re proud to say that we are women-owned and we do hold the WBENC accreditation! 😁  Let us give your business the feminine touch. We might be women-owned but don’t let that fool you, we’re way tougher than your toughest shipment. Trust us to handle your toughest consignments 😊

Want to partner with a woman-owned company for your shipments?

At PEI we’re experts in dealing with specialized freight and can handle yours with any custom requirements.