Comcast RISE Spotlight: Empowering Women Business Owners in Beltway

In honor of Women’s History Month and all year long, we celebrate and support women entrepreneurs across our region.

Through Comcast RISE, our program to help empower underrepresented small business owners, we have provided more than $60 million in grants, marketing and technology services to more than 6,700 small businesses owned by people of color nationwide, including 464 businesses based in our Beltway Region. This includes awarding $1 million in total grants as well as technology and marketing resources to more than 100 Washington, D.C.-based small businesses owned by people of color.  

Seeing that nearly 70% of the recipients across the country were women, we expanded eligibility to all women-owned businesses earlier this year. 

Here are some of the inspiring women entrepreneurs who have been selected as recipients of the Comcast RISE program in our area: 

• Joye B. Moore, Founder and CEO, Joyebells Sweet Potato Pies (Richmond, VA) 
• Lauren Buckner, Founder, Body by Buckner (Washington, D.C.)  
• Jannett Spearman, Owner, Spearman Artisanry (Lynchburg, VA) 
• Aisha Khadar, Managing Director, Sha’S Creations (Silver Spring, MD)
• Sonya Allen, Founder and CEO, Healing Connector (Midlothian, VA) 
• Melissa Jakes, CEO, Rescue Event Planning (Columbia, MD) 

Comcast RISE, which stands for Representation, Investment, Strength, and Empowerment, is part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities.  

 Learn more about Comcast RISE and apply here: https://www.comcastrise.com/apply/.