D.C. leads in markets for women-owned businesses

By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.comA recent report revealed that Washington D.C. is a leading region for women entrepreneurs. The 2024 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses, commissioned by Wells Fargo, examined the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan statistical area (MSA) among others across the country. D.C. ranked number nine.& Val Jones is the women’s segment leader for small business as Wells Fargo. The financial institution recently commissioned a report to examine the landscape of women-owned businesses across the U.S. (Photo courtesy of Wells Fargo)“D.C. was a top 10 metropolitan area,” said Val Jones, women’s segment leader for small business at Wells Fargo. “There’s a moderate firm growth of 9.6 percent, but what they found in the D.C. area in particular is that women-owned businesses contributed a lot to strengthening the region’s economy.”& The report was inspired by the need for more current data about the state of women-owned businesses. Previously, most people referred to the 2019 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, which was commissioned by American Express.& In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the country, disrupting and, in some cases, eliminating businesses. The long-term effects are still unfolding. As so much has changed for businesses in the past couple of years, Wells Fargo wanted...