Why Support the WE-DO Awards?
With a vision that every Entrepreneur has an equitable opportunity and access to develop, launch, and grow a business that creates wealth for themselves, their families, and/or their community, the city of Toledo partnered with Forward Cities to create the city's equitable entrepreneurial ecosystem (E3) scorecard.
In 2021, the city received its results across the four essential categories for an entrepreneurial ecosystem: people, programs, networks, and narratives. We scored very low (2.7 out of 25) for narratives pertaining to the ecosystem's authentic storytelling that highlights its personality and diversity.
One of the ways for improvement is to develop an award and/or recognition of excellence for diverse entrepreneurs and ecosystem leaders.
We believe that investing in gender equality, women’s economic development, and empowerment can help eradicate extreme poverty, build vibrant economies, and unlock human potential on a transformational scale. We aim to support these efforts, as we continue to advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusivity to bridge the equity and network gap in all areas of the marketplace and workplace in our community.