Members of the Fresno County Women's Chamber of Commerce, one of several local organizations supporting women in business across the Central Valley. Photo via Fresno County Women’s Chamber of Commerce

Women in business continue to be a major force in the U.S. economy, and their increasing entrepreneurial influence is shaping the national business fabric, as well as that of the Central Valley.

According to Wells Fargo’s 2025 report, “The Impact of Women Owned Business,” women owned businesses made up 39.2% of all enterprises in 2024, about 14.5 million, and employed 12.9 million workers.

Even though businesses owned by men have a 54.9% share of the market, women-owned businesses have a major impact, contributing $3.3 trillion in annual revenue.

Between 2019 and 2024, those businesses increased by 17.1% and their employment increased by 19.5%. Revenues increased by 53.8%.

Local organizations specialize in helping nurture such growth.

 

Support infrastructure

Through a partnership with the Small Business Administration and administered through Fresno State, the Central Valley Women’s Entrepreneur (We) Center, launched in 2022, provides no-cost, bilingual technical assistance and training to entrepreneurs across 11 counties in the Central Valley.

Executive Director Ana Alfaro said that while there has been an increase in consultations between 2025 and 2026, there was also a 45% decrease in new female applicants expressing interest in starting their own business.

In 2025, the main industries women were interested in included food business, technical services, retail, particularly online retail, and health care, Alfaro said.

The WE Center offers a variety of programs to support both women and men business owners across the Central Valley. These include one-on-one technical assistance and training. Areas covered include business planning, financial management, marketing, permits and licensing, human resources, government contracting and the MakeHerSpace training facility. 

All of these services are confidential and provided at no cost to help both for-profit and nonprofit businesses start, grow, and sustain their businesses, Alfaro said.

She said the biggest challenges she sees for women in business are related to access to capital and technology.

“Although there are some resources available to apply for loans, many women cannot qualify due to low credit scores or limited income, making it more difficult to start or grow their businesses,” Alfaro said. “In terms of technology, some entrepreneurs rely only on a cellphone to manage their business and lack the skills to navigate the digital world, which is essential for completing government compliance applications, promoting their business online and accessing other digital tools necessary for growth.”

 

 

Local momentum

These trends can be felt in the Central Valley, driven by support from local organizations including the Fresno County Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation/Confia.

Confia has cohort programs — Latinapreneur in Spanish and Womanpreneur in English — to help minority women launch and expand their businesses.

Jennifer Bedoyan, founder of Blooming Belle Marketing, said she has seen an increase in woman business owners in the area just within the last year, noticing that many women, including young women, are taking a chance on themselves and their ideas.

She said that posting herself through social media platforms, and working with others in the community, is a way to market herself and her business.

“There is a great community of like-minded women supporting women in Fresno. If you need your cup filled up, you’re struggling, you can go meet with some women in the community and they will hook you up and help you. I think that is something that men don’t have as much,” Bedoyan said.

She said it is important for women business owners to get out and meet other women in the community to receive the support they really need.

Bedoyan said she sees a trend of more women pursuing and being passionate about business.

“I’m very excited for the year ahead and being involved with the chamber and continuing to support women in business in the area,” Bedoyan said.

 

Breaking barriers

Ashley Stiles, a local Realtor and president of the Fresno County Women’s Chamber of Commerce, said that along with facing challenges including gender biases for funding and wage gaps, women also have to balance the responsibility of taking care of children and the family home.

Along with seeing an increase in women business owners joining the chamber, there has also been in an increase in support from other community members and organizations.

“Established companies and organizations are starting to recognize the importance of being actively engaged with women in business and those partnerships are demonstrating a clear understanding that collaborating with them will benefit both the organization and the broader economy,” Stiles said.

She added that many women handle budgeting for their families, and are choosing to support local, woman-owned businesses.

Women are showing up for each other through mentorships, collaboration and sponsorships.

Stiles said men are also supporting women in business, with gender norms and attitudes changing from the past. They want to see their wives, mothers, daughters and sisters supported and to succeed.

The Covid-19 pandemic made many women pause and think about what success means to them and how they want to provide for their family.

“Women are choosing business ownership because it gives them more control over their time, decision making, income potential and what their growth trajectory is, instead of having to wait for a promotion, asking for time off or recognition within an organization. They can build the environment when they get to set the standards and goals,” Stiles said.