Here's a New Way for Women Entrepreneurs to Find Resources, Funding, and Coaching at Co-working Spaces Around the World

About one third of all small business or franchise owners in the U.S. are women. While this number is trending upward, roadblocks still exist. Among them, women owners often report a lack of access to capital and difficulty finding creative resources for things like marketing and advertising.

This is why Vista, the design and marketing partner to millions of small businesses around the world, has partnered with women's funding marketplace IFundWomen to create ReferHer, a program connecting women entrepreneurs around the world with creative resources, capital, and coaching at women's co-working spaces in Los Angeles, London, Paris, Melbourne, and Toronto. "At Vista, we are committed to providing women entrepreneurs with the experiences, tools and resources to help them find success along their journey," says Emily Whittaker, EVP Commerce at Vista.

Through the ReferHer initiative, Vista is inviting women-owned small businesses to apply to be part of an exclusive networking dinner that kicks off "ReferHer," and nominate a fellow female small-business owner from their community to join them. Fifty applicants will be selected, 10 per country, along with their plus one, for a total of 100 globally. Those selected will receive:

• A seat at an exclusive networking dinner in their country of residence, along with their +1IFW annual membership
• A Vista package of design and marketing resources
• Memberships/resources from the co-working space in her respective market for her and her +1
• Two selected winners in each country will be granted $10,000 towards their business, which will be announced at the dinner

The in-country dinners will be held in May at women-owned local restaurants and hosted by established female entrepreneurs. The attending small business owners will receive personalized coaching from IFW, an introduction to Vista's creative resources and an opportunity to connect with entrepreneurs in their markets.

"By inviting the winning small-business owners to bring a plus one, Vista hopes to open dialogues to create networks that will rally around women-owned small businesses across the globe," Whittaker says. "The ReferHer program plays a part in our larger commitment to supporting women-owned small businesses for years to come."

Women-owned small businesses can apply between March 22 and April 8. Experts from Vista and IFW will review the applications and announce the 100 small businesses on April 26. The dinner series will take place in May during U.S. Small Business Month.

"Through this program, we'll celebrate and spotlight this group of entrepreneurs as we continue our mission to closing the funding gap for women-owned businesses," says Karen Cahn, founder and CEO of IFundWomen.

Click here for more information on ReferHer such as selection criteria and how to apply.