NAWBO is the premier national organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs in all industries. The association works to:
Strengthen the wealth-creating capacity of its members and promote economic development
Create innovative and effective changes in the business culture
Build strategic alliances, coalitions and affiliations
Transform public policy and influence opinion makers
NAWBO-CI is the only Iowa chapter of NAWBO.
Why Join?
Community - Step into a room with women who just get it. The NAWBO-CI community fosters lasting connections and lifelong friendships between women on common ground.
Prestige - Join the ranks of the nation's oldest and most respected organization for women business owners. This isn’t just another local group for women in business; this one has national connections.
Reach - Add nearly 9,000 women business owners in 80 chapters across the nation to your personal network with our nationwide online membership directory, plus national and local events.
Knowledge - Find the information you need to run a business that stands out from the competition.
Solutions - Dig deep for those tough answers. Trade ideas, ask questions, and develop practical solutions to the sticky issues you face every day.
Voice - Change the world around you. NAWBO advocates for legislation that will help your business grow. They’re your business-owner voice in Washington, D.C.!
Drive - Plug into the searing energy of dynamic, ambitious women business owners on the fast track to success.
NAWBO-CI's History
The seed for the Roundtable, the original name for NAWBO-CI, was planted on May 15, 1984, during the final afternoon of the Midwestern Women’s Business Ownership Conference sponsored by the Small Business Administration and a private sector steering committee. Twenty-four women chose to build on that gatherings success and energy, and they established the Roundtable as a vehicle for women business owners to address pertinent issues, education and public policy. Ten Roundtable members became delegates to the1986 White House Conference on Small Business. When they returned from Washington, D.C., they shared their experiences and excitement about the women they’d met from a national association called NAWBO. That association had been created to address nationwide public policy issues and the need to provide a united voice for women business owners in economic, social and political communities. The Iowa WBOs were impressed at how savvy these peers were in strategizing to move their public policy agendas forward. Iowa’s Roundtable women then chose to enhance its focus for WBOs and affiliate with this national entity. The Central Iowa Chapter of NAWBO has existed ever since, and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2011.
