The Allstate Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneurs Program
The Allstate Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneurs (MWEE) Program is a joint venture of the UB School of Management’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the UB Center for Urban Studies. The program’s mission is to construct a pathway that enables minority and women entrepreneurs to move their companies to the next stage of their development through mentoring and technical assistance. Participants (protégés) work with a mentor (who is, or has been, successful with a business with a similar background), and attend monthly business development seminars, networking events and complete a revised or newly developed business plan. The Protégé of the Year receives the Allstate Minority and Women Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award and a $1,500 prize.
The program, partially funded through the Allstate Foundation, is designed to help participants:
- Forge relationships with successful business owners
- Learn more about the varied aspects of running a small business
- Formulate clear objectives and outcomes to guide the development of their business plan
- Devise realistic business goals and timetables and develop strategies for achieving them
- Learn about and connect with existing organizations and resources, public and private, that can assist with the development of their business