CARES Act to aid Indigenous women business owners

Town Crier “Briefs from the Region” (1) – 11/12/20

Accelerate Montana’s Rural Innovation Initiative at the University of Montana was established to encourage entrepreneurship in rural and Indigenous communities across the state. Since women, struggling with limited childcare options and remote learning models are disproportionately affected by the pandemic, AMRII has seen their need grow in recent months. The program recently received $300,000 in CARES Act Recovery Grant funding, which will provide micro-courses and accelerator programs for women interested in starting a business, or who are already business owners. 

“Women are being disproportionately, negatively affected by COVID-19,” said Morgan Slemberger, Blackstone LaunchPad’s director of women’s entrepreneurship and leadership who is working with AMRII on this program. “The National Women’s Law Center released data for September that says four times more women than men dropped out of the workforce.”