About National NAWBO

Since 1975, members have benefited from NAWBO's growing network, public policy advocacy, and powerful business resources. In fact, NAWBO was started right here in the Metropolitan DC area by several businesswomen who are now NAWBO NOVA honorary members. The original mission stands today – “to propel women entrepreneurs into economic, social, and political spheres of power worldwide.” (For details about NAWBO National, visit the NAWBO National Website at http://www.nawbo.org/.) 

Even the NAWBO logo is symbolic of NAWBO's dedication to growing women-owned businesses and women business owners. The two intersecting dollar signs represent women supporting and working with other women to increase our share of corporate and government income, and the circle enclosing the dollar signs emphasizes our commitment to keeping our wealth and power as a fertile base of growth for future generations of women business owners.

Today, American women business owners are represented with over ninety NAWBO chapters covering every state in the continental United States - including three chapters in Virginia, one chapter in Maryland, and one chapter in Washington, DC.

Center for Women’s Business Research
The Center for Women's Business Research, founded by NAWBO® in 1989 as the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, is the premier source of knowledge about women business owners and their enterprises worldwide.

The Center (http://www.womensbusinessresearch.org/) conducts original, groundbreaking research to document the economic and social contributions of women-owned firms, and consulting and public relations services to maximize the benefits of this knowledge. Corporations, government policy makers, educators, organizations, the media, and individuals rely on our leading-edge knowledge to strengthen their support of women business owners.

NAWBO Political Action Committee

The NAWBO Political Action Committee (PAC) supports candidates for Congress that are aligned with NAWBO’s public policy issues. 

NAWBO Institute for Entrepreneurial Development
In 2003, NAWBO formed the NAWBO Institute for Entrepreneurial Development (IED), a 501(c)3 organization that seeks to expand the educational opportunities for emerging and established women entrepreneurs. Current NAWBO IED initiatives include the sponsorship of educational programming at NAWBO’s annual Women’s Business Conferences, and support of conference scholarships for emerging women entrepreneurs. Currently, the NAWBO IED is fully supported by member contributions.

Sister Organizations:
Our international connections are established through our sister organization Les Femmes Chefs d'Entreprises Mondiales, FCEM, (World Association of Women Entrepreneurs) http://www.fcem.org/, which is “an international women's business organization comprised of national associations of over half a million women business owners from over thirty five different countries of the five continents.”

Another sister organization, the National Women Business Owners Corporation, “a national 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, was established to increase competition for corporate and government contracts through implementation of a pioneering economic development strategy for women business owners. NWBOC has launched a national certification program for women owned and controlled business as an alternative to the multiple state and local certifications required by many public and private sector agencies. Over 100 private and public agencies now accept NWBOC certification.” (See http://www.nwboc.org/ for details.)