BUSINESS

Women's startup program at ASU given $175K grant

Sue Doerfler
The Republic | azcentral.com
Ray Cabrera, streetscape programs manager for Downtown Phoenix, Inc. (left) chats with Sara Anderson, downtown Phoenix events manager for Downtown Phoenix, Inc., before the start of Phoenix Startup Week on the 19th floor of One 11 Tower in downtown Phoenix, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015.
  • An ASU program that helps female entrepreneurs received a grant.
  • The grant coincides with Phoenix Startup Week.

Chase Bank is giving $175,000 to an Arizona State University program for female entrepreneurs to help kick off the Phoenix Startup Week event.

The grant, which benefits the ASU Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative, will help further the program's mission to support and advance women-led businesses, said Mitzi Montoya, ASU's dean for entrepreneurship and innovation.

"Women are woefully underrepresented" in the entrepreneurship scene, she said.

Phoenix Startup Week may help change that. The event, which began Monday, features more than 130 free workshops, some of which are geared to female entrepreneurs, as well as networking possibilities and facility tours.

More than 1,700 people have registered for the inaugural event, which is sponsored by Chase Bank in partnership with Up Global, a non-profit that works to foster entrepreneurship.

Startup Week offers attendees a chance to connect with each other and learn the tools they need to thrive, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said.

He called Phoenix Startup Week a testament to metro Phoenix's growing "entrepreneurial ecosystem."

Those entrepreneurs help boost the local economy, said Noreen Bishop, regional manager of business banking for Chase.

"Startups of today are job creators of tomorrow," she said.

Ray Cabrera is attending the event to get inspired.

"I want to see what other big thinkers are doing," said Cabrera, who runs Downtown Phoenix Inc.'s streetscape program.

Jonathan Cottrell, Startup Week's main organizer, said he is amazed by the way the region's startup community has unified in support of the event.

He said he expects it to become a staple here in the Valley.

Reach the reporter at sue.doerfler@arizonarepublic.com.

Online: phoenix.startupweek.com