The fourth annual conference and business fair offers some 250 booths and an intensive schedule of leading-edge workshops, keynote speakers and events that enable women’s business enterprises (WBEs) to successfully market their products and services to U.S. corporations.

"Our research shows that business fairs such as ours are a critical strategy for both WBE’s and corporations in forging new ways to work together. Every year we witness the dramatic impact our conference can make in providing both with the knowledge and contacts they need to do more business," said Susan Phillips Bari, president and founding architect of WBENC.

WBENC is the nation’s leading advocate for women-owned businesses as suppliers to America’s corporations and the leading third-party certifier of women-owned businesses.

Women in Business 2003: Sharing the Vision presents an unmatched forum for a candid and high-level exchange of ideas among corporate and government leaders and WBEs on topics such as surviving a tough economy through alliances; accessing international markets through effective use of technology, and gaining entree to global supply chain management decisions.

A unique feature is the MatchMaker Meeting program that offers pre-arranged face-to-face meetings for certified WBEs with corporate buyers. Two new day-long clinics have been added this year: “The WBE Handbook to Marketing the CEO Inside You,” and “Strategic Growth: Using Mergers, Acquisition and Private Capital.”

The event’s sponsors include leading corporations from a variety of industries: Altria family of companies; IBM Corporation; United Parcel Service; Bank of America; ExxonMobil; Office Depot; Pfizer, Inc.; Shell; AOL Time Warner; BellSouth Corporation; Intel Corporation; Pitney Bowes; SBC Communications; The Coca-Cola Company; Dell; Federated Department Stores; J.P. Morgan Chase and Co.; Merrill Lynch; PepsiCo, Inc.; BP America; Lucent Technologies; Verizon Wireless; Wells Fargo; W.W. Grainger; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Citigroup; OPEN Small Business Network from American Express; Deutsche Bank; Johnson & Johnson; Cedant Car Rental Group, Inc., and Prudential Financial.

Women’s Business Enterprise sponsors are Neutral Posture; Smead Manufacturing; Teltech Communications; Amazing Gift Baskets, Inc.; Designed Solutions Group, Inc.; Emerge International; Hammer Press; Lasertone Corporation; MBE Magazine, and Superior Staffing Services.

As the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) partners with corporate diversity executives and women’s business organizations throughout the United States. Of the approximately 400 corporations with supplier diversity programs, all of them accept WBENC certification. WBENC provides these key elements to a successful certification program:

• Access to a national standard of certification
• Business-to-business sourcing opportunities through WBENCLink and another Internet tool, WEbuy@wbenc.org
• Training programs and manuals covering certification review procedures.
• Management training programs for its organizational partners.
• Creation and dissemination of topical seminars and workshops for women business owners.
• Benchmarking surveys and ongoing interaction with certified women’s business enterprises.

WBENC also promotes best practices in supplier diversity through the annual selection of “America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises.”

WBENC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that seeks and accepts donations from corporations, foundations and individuals that support its mission and programs.