STAMFORD, Conn. — The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) released its 2025 Impact Report, highlighting a year of growth, momentum, and measurable economic impact for women-owned businesses and early childhood entrepreneurs across Connecticut.
The report, themed “Bringing Success Into Focus,” details WBDC’s continued statewide reach and the growing demand for its entrepreneurial education, business advising, grant programs, and networking opportunities. In 2025, WBDC awarded $2,698,031 in grants, helping women entrepreneurs and early childhood business owners launch, stabilize, expand, and create jobs in communities across the state.
“For nearly three decades, WBDC has helped women across Connecticut turn their ideas, talents, and determination into thriving businesses,” said WBDC CEO Fran Pastore. “The momentum we are seeing among women entrepreneurs is extraordinary, and it reflects what is possible when women have access to the confidence, capital, and community they need to succeed. Every business we support represents a livelihood, a family, a dream, and a stronger local economy.”
Among the key outcomes highlighted in the 2025 Impact Report:
- $2,698,031 in client grants awarded in 2025
- 3,535 clients served statewide
- 10,224 jobs created or maintained, including 764 jobs created, a 70% increase over 2024
- 121 new businesses started by clients
- $10.4 million in capital accessed by 433 businesses
- 53% of clients were people of color
- Clients served in 163 of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities, reaching 96% of the state’s cities and towns
- 15,968 hours of education and advising, an increase of more than 2,300 hours over 2024
The report also highlights WBDC’s growing portfolio of grant programs, which support entrepreneurs at different stages of business development. Since 2020, WBDC has awarded more than $20 million in grants. In 2025, WBDC grant programs included:
- Launch Pad Grants: 89 startup businesses funded, totaling $222,500
- Ignite Grants: More than $1 million awarded to 106 businesses
- Accelerate Grants: $200,000 awarded to eight businesses
- Waterbury/WBDC Small Business Grants: $170,000 awarded to 17 Waterbury businesses
WBDC’s Child Care Business Support Program, offered in partnership with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, continued to strengthen Connecticut’s child care infrastructure. In 2025, the program supported 42 new child care businesses, helped create 1,238 new child care slots, and supported 14,716 slots overall. Through the Child Care Business Opportunity Fund, WBDC distributed 131 grants totaling more than $1.1 million to 119 early childhood businesses, supporting 541 jobs and 2,887 child care slots.
The 2025 Impact Report also details the launch of WBDC’s inaugural Catalyst Symposium, which brought more than 150 Connecticut women entrepreneurs together for networking, workshops, a women-owned business marketplace, and a live pitch competition for WBDC Accelerate Grant finalists. The organization also hosted its 12th Women-Owned Business Day in Hartford and welcomed more than 625 clients, community leaders, and stakeholders to its annual Women Rising Gala.
The full 2025 WBDC Impact Report is available here.
About the Women’s Business Development Council
The Women’s Business Development Council’s (WBDC) mission is to support economic prosperity for women and strengthen communities through entrepreneurial and financial education services that create and grow sustainable jobs and businesses across Connecticut. WBDC educates, motivates, and empowers women to achieve economic independence and self-sufficiency. Since 1997, WBDC has educated and trained over 22,700 clients across all 169 towns in Connecticut — helping women launch, sustain, and scale over 17,000 businesses, create and maintain more than 42,890 jobs, and access over $90 million in capital. Since 2020, WBDC has provided more than $20.6 million in grants to help fuel growth in small businesses throughout Connecticut. Visit ctwbdc.org for more information.
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