New York City, NY, Feb. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lendio, the nation’s leading marketplace for small business loans, today announced plans to host its inaugural Women in Business Empowerment Workshop. Designed to address the challenges faced by female entrepreneurs, the event will provide insight into what it takes to set up a business and prepare to access debt capital. Attendees will receive guidance from financial experts as well as the chance to network with other business owners and business groups from the community.
The free event is aimed at helping aspiring female entrepreneurs and business owners looking to launch or take a business to the next level. It will be held in New York City on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Presentations will be given by Denada Ramnishta, SVP of Lender & Partner Strategy at Lendio, as well as other small business finance specialists.
A Lendio study shows that only 24% of the businesses accessing capital in the past year are women-owned. Still, as online lending continues to grow, so does the number of women-owned businesses taking advantage of it. Lendio found that in the last quarter of 2019, the percentage of women-owned businesses borrowing money increased in 25 states.
“Women-owned businesses are the fastest-growing segment of entrepreneurs in the United States, yet they’re still financially underserved,” said Ramnishta. “As an industry, we are making progress but still have work to do. It’s critical for lenders to step in to fill the gender credit gap that has existed for years. We at Lendio believe strongly in the power of bringing women together to talk about these common challenges and possible solutions.”
Catering for the evening will be provided by a local, woman-owned business. RSVP Events is a boutique event catering and staffing company owned and directed by Renee Kehinde. Started in 2015, RSVP has served at well over 100 corporate and social events. Kehinde says as a female business owner she often feels underestimated, but loves the excitement of working in a challenging industry and locale.
“Operating a catering business involves hiring staff and outside vendors, which I find personally rewarding by contributing to my local community and economy,” said Kehinde. “I care as deeply about my staff as I do the success of my clients’ events, so when the food is being devoured as fast as we serve it, the drinks are flowing and the guests and RSVP team are happy, that is the moment I feel most successful.”
“I’ve seen so many entrepreneurs go through the grind of trying to access capital to start or grow a business. Once they do, they have the power to add real value to the world—economic and otherwise,” continued Ramnishta. “Nothing could be more inspiring to me. Lendio is pleased to be kicking off this series of women’s empowerment workshops across the country as an important part of its quest to make small business lending more accessible.”
Lendio is a free online service that helps small business owners find the right loans for their diverse needs. Founded in 2011 by Brock Blake and Trent Miskin, it is now the nation’s largest small business loan marketplace. To-date, Lendio has facilitated nearly $2B in financing through more than 100,000 small business loans, and has become a trusted advocate for small business owners seeking to understand their financing options.
Lendio thanks the co-sponsors of the Women in Business Empowerment Workshop, Tribeca Ventures and CommonBond. Interested attendees must register for the free event on or before March 1.
To learn more about Lendio, visit www.lendio.com.
About Lendio
Lendio is a free online service that leverages machine learning to help business owners find the right small business loans within minutes. With a network of over 75 lenders offering multiple loan products and over 100,000 small business loans funded, Lendio’s marketplace is the center of small business lending. Lendio was recently recognized by Glassdoor as one of the Top 50 Workplaces and has been certified for three years running as a great workplace by the independent analysts at Great Place to Work®. In addition, Lendio ranks on Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance and Inc.’s Best Workplaces. For every new loan facilitated on Lendio’s marketplace platform, Lendio Gives, an employee contribution and employer matching program, provides a microloan to a low-income entrepreneur around the world through Kiva.org. More information about Lendio is available at www.lendio.com. Information about Lendio franchising opportunities can be found at www.lendio.com/franchise.