Business
The Association of Women's Business Centers Reports Nationwide Impact of Its Verizon Partnership as 2025 Engagement Reaches New Heights
The Association of Women's Business Centers (AWBC) today reports the significant nationwide impact of its partnership with Verizon, which has strengthened digital readiness, entrepreneurship training, and access to economic opportunity for more than 30,000 small business owners since its launch. Over the past several years, the collaboration has delivered vital technology tools, grant funding, and educational resources that fuel business growth in rural, urban, and underserved communities.
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[{"type":"text","content":"WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Women's Business Centers (AWBC) today reports the significant nationwide impact of its partnership with Verizon, which has strengthened digital readiness, entrepreneurship training, and access to economic opportunity for more than 30,000 small business owners since its launch. Over the past several years, the collaboration has delivered vital technology tools, grant funding, and educational resources that fuel business growth in rural, urban, and underserved communities.","length":539,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"In 2025 alone, more than 8,435 business owners registered for Verizon Digital Ready, nearly 2,000 veterans engaged in programming, and over 2,200 course completions helped founders strengthen their operations and digital capabilities. An additional 1,447 entrepreneurs registered for Verizon Skill Forward, with hundreds completing workforce-aligned training that enhances their competitiveness in today's economy.","length":418,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"As a presenting sponsor at the 2025 AWBC Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., Verizon connected directly with small business owners and resource partners. Attendees heard firsthand from subgrant recipients about the real impact of Verizon's support, and inspiring mainstage testimonials drove record-level interest and engagement in Verizon Digital Ready and Skill Forward throughout the network.","length":406,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Verizon's programs are fully integrated throughout the AWBC network, appearing across onboarding processes, capital readiness support, business plan development, and both live and virtual events. Verizon Digital Ready and Skill Forward are also consistently promoted through AWBC's HOPE2Women Funding Center, VeteranStartup.org, Biz2Grow, and the TikTok Shop Veteran SOAR Business Accelerators, ensuring that entrepreneurs can easily access training, tools, and pathways to growth regardless of their location or business stage.","length":536,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"The partnership continues to generate meaningful success stories, including recent grant recipient Amy Brooks Hoffmann of Fleur de Lis Organized Solutions, who discovered Verizon Small Business Digital Ready through the Women's Business Center...