In its first year alone, Comcast RISE has provided over $60 million in grants, marketing and technology services to support more than 6,700 small businesses owned by people of color in Comcast’s national footprint – including nearly 550 in the company’s Greater Chicago Region. 

Comcast announced recently that its Comcast RISE program is open to all women-owned businesses in its Greater Chicago Region, which includes Illinois, Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan. The expansion of Comcast RISE to women-owned businesses furthers the company’s efforts to advance digital equity and help provide underrepresented small business owners with access to the digital tools and funding they need to thrive. 

In its first year alone, Comcast RISE has provided more than $60 million in grants, marketing and technology services to more than 6,700 small businesses owned by people of color – including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and Asian Americans – in Comcast’s national footprint, including nearly 550 in the company’s Greater Chicago Region. Of the 6,700 Comcast RISE recipients to date, nearly 70% have been businesses owned by women of color, spurring Comcast to take a deeper look into the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs. 

According to a study by the National Association of Women Business Owners, 42% of businesses in the U.S. are owned by women – and that women start more than 1,800 new businesses each day. That’s nearly five times the national average. However, according to the same study, women-owned businesses tend to grow at only half the rate of those run by men, namely because women struggle to access capital and other resources to help them succeed. 

Karen Cahn, Founder & CEO of IFundWomen, echoed this important point, “The data about how women, a rapidly increasing number of whom are small business owners, have fared during the pandemic is stark. Women business owners tend to have limited access to capital and debt-free funding options, yet they represent a tremendous opportunity. Women-owned businesses deliver two times higher revenue per dollar invested than those founded by men, making them great investments.” 

“As we continue to rebuild and emerge from the effects of the pandemic, small businesses will continue to be the backbone of our economy – and we must take every opportunity to help them thrive,” said Teresa Ward-Maupin, Senior Vice President, Digital and Customer Experience, Comcast Business. “Looking forward, this expansion will enable Comcast RISE to further empower and strengthen even more small businesses that are the heart of our local communities across the country.” 

Comcast RISE, which stands for Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment, is part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help provide underrepresented small business owners with access to the digital tools and funding they need to thrive. Over the next 10 years, Comcast has committed $1 billion to programs, like Comcast RISE, and partnerships that will reach an estimated 50 million people with the skills, opportunities and resources they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.

Comcast RISE, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary, is open to racially and ethnically diverse small business owners and all women-owned businesses. More information and the application to apply for marketing and technology services are available at www.ComcastRISE.com.