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Business Opportunities, Benefits, and Grants for Women in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The City of Pittsburgh comprises business opportunities, benefits, and grants to support women entrepreneurs in their efforts to succeed in the world of business and make their neighborhoods better. This article outlines the available resources and tools for business assistance in the City of Pittsburgh.

The Small Business and Neighborhoods Group

The purpose of this group is to improve the condition of the neighborhoods by providing resources and tools to female entrepreneurs to enable them to start and grow successful businesses in the City of Pittsburgh. The group works in partnership with the Urban Redevelopment Authority to help women-owned businesses come up with viable plans and attract resources to help in achieving the revitalization goals of their various neighborhoods. Please note that you have to be in a group to get access to support from this group. For this reason, individual women-owned businesses cannot get support unless your business is owned and managed by a group of female entrepreneurs. For more details bout the Small Business and Neighborhoods Group, please visit https://pittsburghpa.gov/mayor/small-business.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)

URA is the economic development agency of the City of Pittsburgh and is dedicated to supporting economic development goals through entrepreneurial opportunities and other resources. Its areas of focus include business and entrepreneurial development, creating job opportunities, and supporting the development of a talented workforce equipped with skills to support the growth of women-owned small businesses and generally improve the economic growth of the City of Pittsburgh. Find out more at https://www.ura.org/pages/who-we-are.

Access to Capital – Commercial & Business Lending

Commercial & Business Lending provides a variety of financing options to women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises. CBL works with both equity and private dent to provide finance that your business needs to thrive. Besides, the Commercial and Business Lending partners with technical support programs and service providers to facilitate the growth and expansion of your business. The program will help with anything your business needs to achieve its goals. The CBL loan programs include:

Micro-Enterprise Loan Program.

This program is administered by Invest Pittsburgh to support women-owned startups and small businesses through loans. The program offers loans of up to $30,000 to help women entrepreneurs launch their ventures or expand the existing businesses. Loans can also be used as working capital to help in the day-to-day business activities, purchase new inventory and equipment. the loans are provided at a 3% interest rate on differing terms depending on your business needs. Women entrepreneurs looking for funds for working capital have up to 3 years to make repayments while those seeking new equipment have up to 5 years. Want to apply for the program assistance? Well, get prepared with $50, payable during submission of your application. Upon approval of your loan, you will pay a $100 fee. For more information, please visit https://investpgh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Invest-PGH-Microloan-Program-Guidelines-1_25_2021.pdf.

Accelerating Business Expansion Loan (ABEL) Program

ABEL program provides funding support at reasonable underwriting standards to help women-owned small businesses achieve growth and expansion. The program funds can be used for purchasing real estate property, construction of new buildings for expansion, acquisition of furniture, equipment, machinery, and office equipment. you may also use the funds as working capital to carry out your normal business operations. How much assistance can you get from this program? Well, loan amounts range from $30,000 to $150,000 and are issued at a 4% interest rate. View the program guidelines at https://investpgh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Accelerating-Business-Expansion-Loan-Fund-Guidelines-3_10_2021FINAL.pdf.

Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) Loan Program

PIDA Loan program is administered by the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority and is dedicated to providing funding support to women-owned businesses through low-interest loans and lines of credit. The program focuses on helping women-owned businesses that commit their activities to generate employment opportunities and retaining the existing ones. If your business is situated in the City of Pittsburgh, you can access this program through the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The amount of assistance you are likely to receive upon qualification depends on your business needs. The amount of loan you may receive includes, up to $2,500,000 for purchasing real estate, $100,000 for working capital, and $1,500,000 for machinery and equipment. Find out more at https://www.ura.org/pages/pida-loans.

Business Energy Savings Program

The purpose of this program is to support women-owned small and medium-sized businesses to achieve more energy efficiency. The program is provided by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), an economic development agency of the City of Pittsburgh. The program can help with low-interest funding of up to $50,000 and a $400 grant for Energy Audit. These funds are designed to help you you’re your utility bills. Loans are payable over 7 years and are issued at a 3% interest rate. You will need to pay some fees for this program to work well for you. get prepared with a $300 application fee, 5% of the total loan for servicing, and 2% of the total loan as due diligence. View program summary at https://www.ura.org/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMjAvMTIvMTUvM2J6ZWJscGRkaV9CRVNfRmFjdHNoZWV0LnBkZiJdXQ/BES_Factsheet.pdf.

Supplier Diversity Program

The purpose of the Supplier Diversity Program is to ensure women-owned businesses have equal access to procurement opportunities in the City of Pittsburgh. The program ensures that all certified businesses get the maximum opportunity to supply goods and services in the City of Pittsburgh. To a program participant, you must be certified as a woman or veteran-owned business. This means the business must be owned at least 51% by a woman and they must be in management and control of the operations. It must be located in the United States and the owner must also meet the U.S. citizenship requirements. Want to apply? Please review the instructions at https://supplierdiversity.upmc.com/?_ga=2.180668071.1462784271.1617372622-123474780.1617372622. For more details, please visit https://www.upmc.com/about/supply-chain/supplier-diversity-program.

Pittsburgh Professional Women

Pittsburgh Professional Women is dedicated to inspiring, motivating, and educating, and help them achieve success in the entrepreneurial journey. Please note that this is not a networking group so don’t expect business cards when you attend the special events. The events are specifically designed to educate and train you so that you can the right skills and knowledge to run a successful business in the City of Pittsburgh. The mission of this organization is to help women achieve business success. Find out more at https://ppw.wildapricot.org/.

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