Women's Business Enterprise Council (WBEC)-West Celebrates Arizona’s Latina WBEs at the Fifth Annual Power of the Purse Conference

The Fifth Annual Power of the Purse business breakfast will spotlight the achievements of Hispanic women business owners and professionals on Monday, March 7th, 7:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. at the beautiful Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, and is scheduled to correspond with International Women's Day.

Hosted by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's (AZHCC) Latina Business Enterprises Group in partnership with Women's Business Enterprise Council (WBEC)-West this year's theme is “Celebrating Women Leading Business: Inspiring Rising Leaders.”

Arizona’s Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBEs) are part of a vibrant, ongoing demographic and economic transformation occurring across the Southwest and nationwide. According to findings released in the 2015 DATOS report by the AZHCC, “The number of Hispanic-owned businesses soared 70 percent from 52,667 to 89,673 between 2007 and 2012. Based on the compounded growth trend for that period, there are now estimated to be more than 123,000 Hispanic-owned firms in Arizona.”

Event attendees will also get a chance to peruse the mini-expo before and after the event, have a chance to participate in a raffle drawing, and hear compelling statistics on women in the workplace and community.

"It's important to acknowledge women-owned businesses and particularly Latina-owned businesses which are a fast growing segment amongst WBEs today. Latinas are paving their way in both the Federal and Corporate realm and also in the U.S. small business market and we at WBEC-West are there to support them with the tools and certification they need to potentially discover more procurement opportunities, get an edge over the competition and ultimately grow their business," stated Dr. Pamela Williamson, President of WBEC-West.

On-site registration for the event and a mini business expo start at 7:30 a.m. The Power of the Purse program is from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Admission: AZHCC Members, $30; non-members, $40; students $20. Click here to purchase tickets!

About Women's Business Enterprise Council West (WBEC-West)

WBEC-West, a regional partner of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), implements the certification standards of WBENC all across the west including, Arizona, Colorado, Southern California, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam. WBENC certification is recognized all over America and honored by 10,000+ major corporations. They also support corporations in their efforts to include WBENC Certified WBE's in their supplier diversity programs.

Learn more about WBENC certification and get certified today to start doing business with large corporations.

About Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (AZHCC)

Founded in 1948, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is the premier advocate for the state's more than 67,000 Hispanic-owned small businesses and more than 2 million Hispanic consumers.

The non-profit organization provides products and services in the area of market intelligence, capacity building, advocacy and education for the benefit and success of its members, corporate partners and to actively promote the economic growth and vitality of Arizona.

The Chamber also operates the federally funded Phoenix Minority Business Development Business Center, which provides access to contracts and capital for mid-sized companies among the state's 100,000+ Minority Business Enterprises in search of growth and investment opportunities.