Women's Business Center

What Women's Business Center does

Women's Business Center is a nonprofit business development organization established in 2000 and headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas. It is an SBA-funded Women's Business Center operating under the U.S. Small Business Administration's WBC grant program, serving women entrepreneurs and small business owners across the Kansas City bi-state region (Kansas and Missouri). The organization is part of the OneKC for Women collaborative network alongside the Women's Employment Network and Women's Capital Connection.

The WBC delivers a portfolio of programs spanning the full business lifecycle: foundational offerings for aspiring entrepreneurs (Starting Out, LaunchU, FastTrac NewVenture), growth-focused services for established businesses (Growing Your Business, Funding Your Business, Credit Building), and specialized initiatives addressing specific needs (WBE Certification, Export, Foundations, Online Learning, and the Child Care Initiative for childcare providers). Services are delivered both in person at the Overland Park office and virtually through online learning modules and remote advising. There is no proprietary technology stack; the platform dimension consists of standard web content, online resources, and virtual workshop delivery.

The business model is grant-funded and mission-driven rather than commercial. Revenue is derived primarily from SBA program funding and institutional support, with services offered free or at low cost to women entrepreneurs and childcare providers. The go-to-market motion is community-led, driven by events, referrals, partner network activity within the OneKC coalition, client success stories, and a newsletter. With 11-50 employees and continuous operation since 2000, the WBC functions as a regional support backbone for women-owned business development rather than a transactional commercial enterprise.

Name

Women's Business Center

Legal name

Women's Business Center

Website

https://kansaswbc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Women's Business Center is an SBA-funded nonprofit established in 2000 in Overland Park, Kansas, providing free and low-cost business development programs, advising, and online learning to women entrepreneurs and small business owners across the Kansas City bi-state region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Development Services

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans (FSAKAGAI), Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK), Small Business & Self-Employment Personal Finance (Income, Expenses, Cash Reserves) (EDAAAJAL), Marketing, Branding & Sales Skills (EDAMAHAG)

Keywords

• Women entrepreneurship support
• Small business development
• SBA resource center
• Business training programs
• Nonprofit business advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Overland Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. SBA Funding & Grants: As a Small Business Administration-funded Women's Business Center, the organization operates primarily on federal grant funding and SBA program support. Revenue is not derived from commercial product sales but from institutional funding to support its nonprofit mission of serving women entrepreneurs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Women's Business Center is an SBA-funded nonprofit organization that provides free and low-cost business development services to women entrepreneurs in the Kansas City bi-state region. Its core offering is a portfolio of structured group programs (LaunchU, FastTrac NewVenture), one-on-one advising and mentoring, workshops, online learning modules, and referral pathways to funding, certification, and credit-building resources across the full business lifecycle from ideation to growth and export.

Product overview

The Women's Business Center operates as a non-profit support organization offering a comprehensive portfolio of programs and services for women entrepreneurs and small businesses. The organization provides a multi-tiered service model including foundational programs (Starting Out, LaunchU, FastTrac NewVenture) for aspiring entrepreneurs, growth-focused programs (Growing Your Business, Funding Your Business) for established businesses, and specialized initiatives (Certification, Export, Child Care Initiative) addressing specific business needs. Services are available both in-person and virtually, with resources accessible by phone and online. The center serves women-owned businesses on both sides of the Kansas-Missouri state line and is affiliated with the SBA's network of Women's Business Centers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LaunchU: Business startup program offered by WBC
• FastTrac NewVenture
• Child Care Initiative

Products and services

• Starting Out Entry-level program providing foundational resources for women entrepreneurs beginning their business journey, including basic business planning and startup guidance. Designed for aspiring women business owners in the Kansas City region.
• LaunchU Entrepreneurship program designed to help aspiring business owners launch their ventures with structured curriculum and support, delivered in a cohort/group format.
• FastTrac NewVenture Comprehensive entrepreneurship training program that equips participants with tools and knowledge to develop viable business plans through structured facilitator-led coursework.
• Growing Your Business Business plan assistance and ongoing small business support services for established women-owned businesses seeking growth and scale.
• Funding Your Business Program connecting women entrepreneurs with SBA resources and lending organizations offering loans and financial education to small business owners.
• Credit Building Financial education program helping small business owners build and improve their personal and business credit profiles in preparation for accessing capital.
• Certification WBE (Women-Owned Business) Certification program that helps women-owned businesses obtain official certification status and access associated supplier-diversity opportunities.
• Export Program supporting women-owned businesses in expanding internationally and navigating export processes and resources.
• Foundations Program connecting women entrepreneurs with foundation funding opportunities and grant resources.
• Child Care Initiative Program strengthening existing child care providers and training individuals who want to become licensed child care providers, combining licensing navigation with business planning and operational support.
• Online Learning Virtual educational content and courses for women entrepreneurs seeking flexible, self-paced learning options accessible remotely.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Springboard Enterprises: Springboard is an accelerator network that supports women entrepreneurs through mentorship, capital access, and networks. While more focused on scaling growth-stage ventures (with investor introductions), its mission, target demographic, and programmatic structure closely parallel the WBC's women-entrepreneur support model.
• Astia: Astia is a nonprofit that supports women entrepreneurs and leaders through advising, investor access, and ecosystem partnerships. It targets a higher-growth and more investment-oriented cohort of women founders but shares the WBC's core mission of expanding women's access to business resources and capital.
• Accion Opportunity Fund: Accion Opportunity Fund is a nonprofit CDFI providing small business loans and advisory services to underserved entrepreneurs, including a strong focus on women and minority business owners. It complements WBC's funding-access programs and serves overlapping entrepreneur demographics, though it operates at a national rather than regional level.
• Grameen America: Grameen America is a nonprofit microfinance organization providing small-dollar loans, business training, and peer support to women entrepreneurs in low-income communities across multiple U.S. metros. It overlaps with WBC on the women-entrepreneur target market and training/credit-building services, with the principal difference being its lending-first model.

Direct peers

• Women's Venture Fund: Women's Venture Fund is a nonprofit providing entrepreneurship training, mentoring, and access to capital for women entrepreneurs, primarily in the New York region. Its programming model (training cohorts, advising, capital connections) closely mirrors WBC's structure and target demographic.
• SCORE: SCORE is an SBA-affiliated nonprofit network providing mentoring, workshops, and business development resources to entrepreneurs across the U.S. It directly mirrors the WBC's model of free advisory services and SBA-linked programming, with the principal difference being SCORE's broader (non-gender-specific) target market.
• America's Small Business Development Centers (SBDC): The SBDC network is an SBA-funded partnership delivering business consulting, training, and resources to entrepreneurs nationwide. As a fellow SBA resource partner, SBDCs offer overlapping programming (business plan assistance, funding access, training) and compete for the same SBA funding and entrepreneur mindshare in their local markets.
• National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO): NAWBO is a membership-driven organization supporting women business owners through advocacy, networking, education, and resources. It directly overlaps with WBC's women-entrepreneur focus on certification, advocacy, and peer networking, though NAWBO is national and membership-based rather than regionally focused and SBA-funded.

Others

• Kauffman Foundation: The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a Kansas City-based private foundation focused on entrepreneurship education and research. While not a direct service provider, it is a regional ecosystem player whose programs, research, and grantmaking directly influence and overlap with the WBC's mission and potential funding landscape.

Regional players

• DreamSpring: DreamSpring is a CDFI providing small business loans, coaching, and resources to underserved entrepreneurs, with significant presence in the Kansas City region. It directly complements WBC's funding-related programming by delivering the actual capital the WBC helps clients access, making it both a partner and competing point of contact for capital-seeking entrepreneurs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/kansascitywbc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women's Business Center