PORTLAND, Oregon — In the last 18 years, Key Bank’s Key4Women program has awarded nearly $12 billion in loans for women-owned businesses.
On Thursday, the bank — alongside the Portland Thorns and nonprofit Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon, also known as MESO — awarded $50,000 to 10 Key4Women recipients for this year’s women-owned business pitch contest.
“Really, it has gone to not only capital, but it has gone into providing connections, providing mentorship, and providing those additional wrap-around services to help these women exceed,” said Josh Lyons with Key Bank. “Portland is an incredibly diverse, unique and amazing city, and you look at our contestants today — it was the full gambit.”
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, women made up nearly 47% of small businesses in Oregon in 2022. That accounts for nearly 189,000 small businesses.
“70% of our clientele are females,” said Cobi Lewis, CEO of MESO. “We are seeing those numbers grow because a lot of the time what happens is females often have a hobby, they have a side hustle, they have something they are good at, and they are turning that into profitable businesses.”
Lyons says more than 200 different Oregon and SW Washington women-owned businesses applied for the year’s pitch contest. But only 10 were selected as finalists.
“I’m literally like, elated. Like I can’t even put it into words,” said Melody Brown, founder of L & M Hair Company and this year’s Key4Women winner.
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L and M Hair Company is a Portland hair studio with a textured hair stylist program, something Melody says she will be spending her grand prize on.
“I am going to formalize everything,” Brown said. “I’m going to hire educators because it is just me, and I am going to get more materials... Getting educators to get these kids in here and making money.”
Lyons tells KGW this year's contestants were strong, and he’s looking forward to more in the future.
“Seeing the improvement and the betterment of our small business community has again been an overwhelming feeling,” said Lyons. “I can confidently say that we are looking to bring this back again in 2024.”
This year's runner-ups were Ventura Home Loans LLC and Prelude LLC. Both were awarded $8,000. Seven others received $2,000 for honorably mentioned businesses.