Dearborn Works program empowers women in business
(CBS DETROIT) — The city of Dearborn wants to help women entrepreneurs launch their own companies.
The city announced a new program late last week called Dearborn Works and is partnering with the Arab American Women's Business Council to launch the new initiative.
"In order to apply, they either live here or have a business that operates in the city to help them either advance professionally or to help them launch a business or grow and scale their businesses," said Jameleh Haidous with the AAWBC Board of Directors.
The program is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.
"I think that's what the government needs to be doing: demonstrating to its residents and community members what they do on a daily basis to help improve the lives of those that they're elected to do," said Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud.
Nearly $650,000 will be used to fund the program through at least 2027.
"We're hoping that this is going to be so successful that we are going to find a way to get the funding to continue this program, hopefully for years to come. But just don't give up. So, if you apply and you don't make it into the initial round, there are going to be other opportunities as well." Haidous said.
The business boot camp is eight classes that will cover subjects like marketing and financial planning.
"At the end of this program, they'll have a fully formed business plan that they will be able to go and pitch their ideas to other investors if needed, and additional sources for capital," Haidous said.
Participants will also be provided $3,500 of seed money to start their businesses.
"We're going to follow them for another 12 months. We're going to give them additional resources if they need it, and we're going to track their progress," Haidous said.
Now there's no limit to what the women of Dearborn can accomplish.
"We know and understand that if you uplift women, you also uplift whole families, and you uplift whole neighborhoods and communities, and that's why we specifically targeted women in this application grant," Hammoud said.
The application deadline is Dec. 1.