美国女性创业数量增加44%

AS IT IS 2015-10-26 Women's Entrepreneurship on the Rise 美国女性创业数量增加44%

Women entrepreneurs are getting more help and resources from governments, universities and corporations — including money.

The number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. increased 44 percent from 2001 to 2011, says the Center for Women’s Business Research.   

Raising capital is a major problem for startups because they need money to grow. In the U.S., only 2 percent of women-run startups receive funding from venture capitalists, says a study by the National Foundation for Women Business Owners and Wells Fargo & Co.

Yet women in the U.S. own 38 percent of U.S. businesses, or 9.1 million companies, says the study. Women-owned firms produce $3 trillion annually¹ in the U.S. economy and create 16 percent of U.S. jobs.

More organizations are providing funding for women-owned startups. Springboard Enterprises in Washington, D.C. is one of these. The organization introduces women-owned startups to investors³.

Springboard began 15 years ago. It has helped about 600 companies that are fast growing and women-owned raise $7 billion globally. According to their website, the companies created “tens of thousands of new jobs” and generated “billions of dollars” in annual profits.

Kay Koplovitz is a co-founder of Springboard Enterprises.

“Women need to access the so-called ‘Stiletto Network’ to push their businesses forward,” she told TheStreet.com. Stilettos are high-heeled shoes worn by women. Koplovitz is saying that women need to tap into capital of successful women entrepreneurs and female business leaders.

Golden Seeds in New York City is another organization that focuses on investing in women-owned businesses. Golden Seeds has more than 285 women angel investors in the U.S.  

Some companies also give cash to innovative⁴ women-owned startups. Cartier is one. In 2006, the French luxury-goods firm partnered with McKinsey & Co., a consulting firm, and INSEAD business school in Paris. They created the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards.

They run an annual competition to recognize top female entrepreneurs from around the world. Each winner gets $20,000, and experts from McKinsey and INSEAD coach them.

There were six winners in 2015 worldwide. Hannah Chou and Mom Huang from Taiwan were the winners from the Asia-Pacific region. Their company is called Our City Love Social Enterprise (www.ourcitylove.org).

The firm created two mobile apps to help disabled people find restaurants in Taiwan.

Another factor fuelling women’s entrepreneurship is the rise of “incubators” for startup companies. Incubators are often located at universities. They assist startup companies.

They provide expert entrepreneurs as mentors⁵ and introductions to investors. For example, Babson University in Wellesley, Massachusetts, has created the Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership. They have a business competition for women entrepreneurs with a grand prize of $250,000.

Technology is another factor driving women’s entrepreneurship. Tools like Skype, social media and web programs that share documents help. It is now easier and cheaper to work globally for both men and women entrepreneurs.

Lastly, experts say great innovations come from anyone — no matter the gender⁶.  

Words in This Story

entrepreneur – n. a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money

funding – n.  an amount of money that is used for a special purpose

capital – n. money, property, etc., that is used to start or operate a business

angel investors - An investor² who provides financial backing for small startups. Angel investors are usually found among an entrepreneur's family and friends.

venture capitalists – expression people who provide money that is used to start a new business

startups – n.  a new business

incubators – n. an organization or place that helps in the development of new businesses

innovation – n. a new idea, device, or method

1 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

2 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

3 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

4 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

5 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。