HOW WE WORK
The WMarketplace Accelerator uniquely offers a nation-wide sales channel that is accessible and welcoming to emerging and larger-scale, women-owned brands along with a comprehensive training and support curriculum. Entrepreneurs are learning while selling and immediately putting into practice their new skills. With all of the data tracking available to ecommerce, WMarketplace can measure ROI for accelerator participants and funders.
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Our program is designed to drive economic and entrepreneurship development, ensuring that women entrepreneurs have a fair and equal opportunity to excel in the ecommerce landscape. By empowering women entrepreneurs to successfully operate online, The WMarketplace seeks to support their economic independence.
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We partner with local, state and federal agencies and other organizations committed to economic development to bring training to their clients. Large retailers utilize our training to diversify their product selection with "ready to scale" suppliers.
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Foundations or other NGOs who prefer to work through a non-profit can fund accelerator training through our fiscal sponsor, Be Bold For Change.
OUR WORK WITH THE GOVERNMENT
WMarketplace ecommerce curriculum was launched in the fall of 2020 in collaboration with the Washington Center for Women in Businesses (WCWB) in S.W. Washington State. The WCWB needed an effective tool to shift women-owned businesses to an ecommerce model following the pandemic shutdown so that they could continue to sell their products and services. Working together, The WMarketplace and WCWB brought women-owned businesses onto The WMarketplace, giving them immediate access to a nation-wide marketplace and new tools to understand how to sell online. This success was replicated in the spring and summer of 2021 with the Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center, with additional cohorts of women-owned businesses being trained in the basics of ecommerce and joining The WMarketplace as sellers.
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To date, over 150 women-owned businesses have participated in ecommerce training and joined the WMarketplace. With additional market research and curriculum development, the original workshops have evolved into the WMarketplace Accelerator, a comprehensive, economic development program for women-owned businesses to efficiently and effectively grow their online sales and take advantage of the rapidly growing digital marketplace.
LARGE RETAILERS
Are you a retailer looking for a pipeline of women-owned businesses?
WMarketplace is a mission-driven business founded to connect women-owned businesses to their potential by supporting them to grow and scale online.
We have the unique ability to combine comprehensive ecommerce curriculum and coaching with a thriving, nation-wide online sales channel to provide a pipeline of qualified, emerging women-owned brands (including certified women-owned) that are ready to scale and be successful on large retail channels.
Emerging brands complete an ecommerce workshop program that ensures they learn the fundamentals of ecommerce (images, product descriptions, shipping, supply chain management, packaging and labeling, etc), and meet your marketplace requirements. They immediately put what they learn into practice and refine their offerings to customers on WMarketplace, utilizing coaching and mentoring.
Retailers can refer brands they are considering, or that have approached them, to this program for development. Leveraging the WMarketplace accelerator enables retailers to review brands regularly on performance, and consumer demand before opting to bring them onto their marketplace or leveraging fulfillment options.
LOOKING TO PARTNER?
Fill out the form below to connect with our Business Development Lead, Colleen Butler.
