The Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) today announced a new alignment of Regional Partner Organizations (RPOs) to serve the women’s business enterprises (WBEs) of Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. In turn, Corporate Members will continue to access the network of certified WBEs for potential business and procurement connections.
“There are so many outstanding Corporate Members and women-owned businesses in this six-state region, and it’s important that WBENC continues to provide WBE certification and market access opportunities, along with revenue-enhancing programs,” said Linda Denney, President and CEO of WBENC, the leading advocate and authority on WBEs as vendors to the nation’s corporations.
WBENC named the Ohio River Valley Women’s Business Council (ORV-WBC) to serve Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. The ORV-WBC is a new program offered by the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati (ULGC) through its Cincinnati Economic Empowerment Center (C-EEC). A similar model successfully delivers the services of a WBENC Regional Partner Organization in the neighboring State of Michigan. The Great Lakes Women’s Business Council is a program of the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development (CEED). Like the Michigan-based CEED, C-EEC’s constituents include all women and minority men, yet the programs and services of both Regional Partner Organizations are strictly for women business owners.
“The Ohio River Valley Women’s Business Council is a welcome addition to the national organization,” said Denney. “With its roots in the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati, this new partnership demonstrates WBENC’s nationwide commitment to diversity while delivering on our mission to provide access to business opportunities for all WBEs. Like the 13 other RPOs, the new Council will continue to provide gender-based certification and programs serving all women regardless of race, creed or physical ability.”
In addition, two existing RPOS, the Women’s Business Enterprise Council South (WBEC South) and the Georgia Women’s Business Council (GWBC) will extend their territories. WBEC South will now cover Tennessee in addition to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. GWBC will provide services beyond the Georgia border to North Carolina and South Carolina.
“WBEC South and GWBC are two of WBENC’s 14 RPOs that also provide women’s businesses across the country with WBENC’s gold standard certification, access to markets, and skills-building programs,” Denney shared.
“Our RPOs deliver the certification, opportunities and resources that are our core values and the lifeblood for successful women’s businesses,” said Denney. “This new alignment will enable our WBEs to forge profitable and innovative partnerships with our Corporate Members and power the economy as a result.” WBENC awarded the new RPO responsibilities following an extensive review and selection process.
As it moves forward with its Strategic Plan, WBENC will grow from the leading provider or WBE certifications in the U.S. to the leader in providing a universally accepted certification standard for WBEs. The WBENC certification standard is now being applied as a model for certification programs abroad, including WEConnect in the U.K., which is launching a reciprocal certification program for U.S. and U.K. WBEs.
WBENC will continue to find new and more efficient ways to enable business opportunities and strategic business relationships between key stakeholders, while helping to increase business contracts and revenue growth for WBEs. In addition, WBENC will utilize existing and contracted resources to serve as the recognized authority on topics pertaining to women in business and other areas that are relevant to its inherent expertise, as well as provide information based on research.