The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County Economic Development Corp. is accepting proposals for the opening round of the Innovate HER Business Challenge, a federal contest to stimulate business solutions that benefit women and families.
The contest is a response to the needs placed on working households where both parents work and women are often filling the role of homemaker and full-time earner.
The winning project will fill a need in the marketplace for a specific product or service that has a demonstrable impact on women and families and can also be easily commercialized. The best proposal will earn a $70,000 prize.
Applicants should submit a one-page summary and business plan of 20 pages or less detailing a business that meets the competition's goals. Applications should be submitted by noon on Nov. 20. The SBDC prefers electronic submissions of the above application, along with contact information, to don@cusbdc.org.
Candidates who want to submit paper proposals should send them to InnovateHER, Illinois SBDC at Champaign County EDC, 1817 S. Neil St., Champaign, IL 61820, Attn: Don Elmore.
The local competitions are a lead-up to the national InnovateHER: Innovating for Women Business Summit, to be held on March 17, 2016, in Washington, D.C. The summit will pull ideas from the local competitions and others in an effort to forge long-term gender equality.
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