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April 25, 2023

Women-owned businesses highlighted at State Capitol

PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Fran Pastore
By Jean Falbo-Sosnovich

The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) will host an event Wednesday, April 26, at the State Capitol in Hartford to honor and promote female entrepreneurs.

The Women-Owned Business Day is making its in-person return after the pandemic forced the event to take place virtually since 2020.

WBDC Founder and CEO Fran Pastore is thrilled to see the event return in-person.

“We are so excited to bring together Connecticut’s incredible community of women entrepreneurs and our state legislators,” said Pastore. “There has never been a more critical time for these groups to connect to share thoughts and ideas about the issues that impact Connecticut’s women-owned businesses.”

The event will take place in the Legislative Office Building, 2nd floor, 300 Capitol Ave., Hartford.

Registration and networking will take place from 9 to 10:30 a.m., followed by a program from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Gilda Bonanno, principal of Gilda Bonanno LLC, will emcee the event. 

Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz will be on hand, along with various state leaders.

The program will also feature testimonials from women-owned businesses, along with a viewing of a documentary film entitled “Grit & Grace: The Fight for the American Dream.” The documentary features three true stories of what it means to find economic security in America, as well as the diverse paths people are taking to get there.

A panel to discuss the documentary and discuss overcoming barriers for women entrepreneurs will follow.

The WBDC was founded in 1997 and has helped train more than 17,000 clients in all of Connecticut’s 169 towns, helping women to launch, sustain and scale more than 12,750 businesses and create more than 26.250 jobs.

This year’s event is being co-chaired by State Senate Deputy President Pro Tempore Patricia Billie Miller, and Chief Deputy Senate Republican Leader Heather Somers. The event’s title sponsor is JPMorgan Chase.

For more information, visit www.ctwbdc.org.

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