PMI to Support Female Empowerment
Image: Sanele Gobinduku/peopleimages.com
Philip Morris International announced the launch of an extended partnership via its U.S. business to support female empowerment with a $5 million investment in the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to providing tools and resources to help women entrepreneurs thrive in business throughout Connecticut.
Beginning January 2025, in coordination with the WBDC, PMI’s U.S. business will contribute $1 million per year over a five-year period toward the Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative to help remove barriers that prevent women from full participation in Connecticut’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Philip Morris International is committed to making positive impact throughout Connecticut communities and beyond. Our partnership with WBDC and investment through the Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative enables us to better support Governor Ned Lamont’s vision of positioning our state as a catalyst for women and their families,” said Stacey Kennedy, president of the Americas region and CEO of PMI’s U.S. business, in a statement.
Since 1997, the WBDC has educated and trained more than 18,900 clients in all of Connecticut’s 169 towns—helping women to launch, sustain and scale more than 14,170 businesses, create and maintain more than 31,400 jobs and access more than $57 million in capital.
“This investment from PMI will enable us to continue the critical work we do to support economic independence through entrepreneurship for women in Connecticut,” said WBDC CEO Fran Pastore. “We are pleased that PMI has trusted us to use these funds to continue to help women access capital, education, and resources to support themselves and fuel employment within our state. Over the past few years, we have seen a 275 percent increase in the number of women who come to us seeking to launch or scale their business. Without the support of corporations in our community like PMI, this growth, and the growth we anticipate in the future, would not be possible.”
