DURHAM – Through a partnership announced today, the nonprofit Women’s Global Empowerment Fund and WeWork will provide 100 selected U.S.-based woman-led companies with complimentary one-year WeWork All Access memberships for up to 10 company employees.

That’s not all – another 63 woman-led companies based in Latin America either All Access memberships for up to 10 employees or dedicated office space for one-year.

The program’s announcement comes on International Women’s Day.

The initiative is named Women For Tomorrow, and also includes support from Softbank.

“Women are natural leaders, in business, in their communities and political life,” said Karen Sugar, the founder and director of the Women’s Global Empowerment Fund.

The partnership is estimated to provide $5 million of value to women-led businesses in the U.S. and Latin America, when factoring in the value of workspace, mentoring, and other benefits, the organizations shared in their release announcing the initiative.

The initiative launches as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a disproportionate impact on women in the workforce.  In February, NPR reported that more than 2 million American women left the workforce in 2020, while UN Women found that the pandemic will cause a 6 percent rise in unemployment among women in Latin America.

In this context, comes Women For Tomorrow, for which the three collaborators on the initiative are seeking to support women-led businesses focused on driving equality and supporting women’s empowerment in underserved regions of the world.

“The selected women-led companies will have access to advice and networking opportunities with SoftBank’s specialists to help their businesses navigate challenges and grow successfully,” the press release reads.  “This mentorship program will offer the selected women-led businesses access to key professionals, educational sessions, and networking opportunities to help scale their businesses.”

According to the initiative’s webpage, applicants must be based in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, or Mexico and be located in a city where WeWork operates.  Applications will be accepted beginning on Tuesday, March 16, 2021, according to the webpage for the initiative.

WeWork operates in Durham, Raleigh and Charlotte.