As the slow and uneven economic recovery continues to unfold, many entrepreneurs have had to reexamine the feasibility of their startups and business ideas in the post-pandemic world. Navigating these economic disruptions has been especially fraught for women entrepreneurs since their businesses tend to be less capitalized, smaller, and generally concentrated in the hard-hit service sector. 

This is an area where we knew Uber could make a change. For many drivers and delivery people, Uber provides the flexibility they need to support and pursue their entrepreneurial passions. We want to do our best to support them and help them to achieve their dreams. 

Today we’re following up on our partnership announcement earlier this year, where we committed to supporting the entrepreneurial goals of our community. We’ve spent the last few months polling entrepreneurs to understand how best we could support their needs.

We’re excited to announce The Forum Growth Series – new, free programming to help 500 self-identified women entrepreneurs take their startups to the next level or bring their business ideas to fruition. These programs have been designed to support women entrepreneurs across the country as they build back from the pandemic. 

We’ll be offering two program streams:

  • The Forum Growth Series: Shift – Designed to help simplify the transition to entrepreneurship. Programming will cover growing and scaling a business, financial, operational and marketing strategies, and opportunities to connect with other entrepreneurs across the country. 
  • The Forum Growth Series: Resto – Developed to help restaurateurs build thriving, profitable and resilient restaurants. Participants will receive curated financial, operational and staffing strategies, along with ways to optimize cash flow, play for food costs, manage inventory, and more. 

 

We know that this programming is just one piece, so The Forum is providing participants with 12 months of 1:1 mentorship, access to weekly calls with other women entrepreneurs, and access to a sharing platform to connect with other entrepreneurs across the country. 

 

Our partnership with The Forum is part of an ongoing commitment to provide new learning opportunities and resources for drivers and delivery people on the Uber platform. We invite all women-identified drivers, delivery people, restaurateurs, and their women-identified family members to take a look at our programs to see how we can help scale their businesses. 

Registration is now open, with programming going live in February 2021.