Ascend Her 2024 Cohort: Q&A Session

How do you lead your business into a new chapter?

Women of color entrepreneurs face unique challenges, from raising capital to external biases affecting day-to-day operations. As an expansion of Wacif’s award-winning Ascend Capital Accelerator program, Ascend.Her is dedicated to serving women of color entrepreneurs through a holistic, multi-week program. Our hands-on approach includes interactive workshops, one-on-one expert consultations, and individualized support. Ultimately, our goal is to support the growth and long-term success of women entrepreneurs of color in the Greater Washington, D.C. region, including the surrounding counties in Maryland and Virginia.

This year’s Ascend.Her Capital Accelerator: Lead Cohort is designed to help entrepreneurs of color navigate a complex marketplace and build resilient businesses in an ever-changing marketplace. Together, we will pause and reflect on our experiences as entrepreneurs and leaders to date while determining how to lead businesses into their next chapters of growth and development. Ascend.Her Lead will include up to fifteen (15) local small businesses owned by women of color entrepreneurs from the Greater Washington, D.C. region.

The focus areas of Ascend. Her include:

• Strengthening your resilient mindset
• Marketing and customer relationship building
• Financial and management training
• Accessing affordable loan capital
• Risk mitigation
• Business performance

Members can Expect

• Customized advisory services tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs of colors in our region.
• Connection with a community of entrepreneurs facing a similar set of challenges.
• Weekly classes over the course of 10 weeks (this includes the final capstone presentation and the preparatory time for it).
• Individualized, vetted growth plan and opportunity to work with Wacif and small business advisors
• Networking opportunities with other cohort members and alumni of past Ascend Accelerators
• Final capstone presentation
• Post-program support and engagement opportunities (change to this)
• Pre-program launch event and graduation celebration

Members are Expected To

• Commit up to 10 hours weekly during the cohort period for workshops, assignments, out-of-class reading, and technical assistance meetings.
• Attend all sessions and complete all required assignments and surveys.
• Create a 12-month growth and development plan.
• Continue engagement with advisors, strategic partners, and cohort participants post-training sessions over a multi-month period
• Attend networking activities outside of classroom sessions.

Attend our Q&A Session to have your Ascend.Her Cohort questions answered!