Iowa’s women-owned businesses rank last in the nation for cumulative growth in the number of firms, revenue and employment according to American Express Open’s 2013 The State of Women-Owned Businesses Report. Currently in Iowa, over 50 percent of its population is female, more women than men are graduating from higher-education institutions, yet women-owned businesses only account for 25.5% of all Iowa’s small businesses in 2007, down from 27% in 2002 according to the She Matters, 2012 Status of Women and Girls in Iowa report. Ascent’s IGNITE program is a pilot program that provides mentoring and educational opportunities to women business owners in Iowa. Women business owners operate differently than men. This unique program targets stage two scalable women-owned businesses in different industries that are located throughout the State of Iowa. It is designed to uncover the needs of woman business owners, assist them in creating and executing a growth plan and meeting them where they need to be met.
