Our Beginnings
The Kokokahi Women’s Business Center
Established in 2019 by YWCA O‘ahu, and funded in-part by small business grants and community partners. Our mission is to empower small businesses by enhancing their ability to establish, sustain, and grow their ventures. We achieve this through personalized business counseling, targeted training, and facilitating access to capital.
Program Awards:
The Open for Business (OFB) 2020-2023 Initiative, funded by Wells Fargo, focused on supporting small business recovery and workforce development in the wake of Covid-19, and culminated in the launch of ShopYWCA.com Social Enterprise. The program supported 766 jobs, $4.3 million access to capital, and 31 new business starts. Shopywca.com nationally promotes 45 locally owned product-based women small businesses on the platform.
The Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC) 2021-2024 program, funded by Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), was specifically aimed to assist minority women-owned businesses in securing contracts and capital, which fostered job creation and business growth. The program helped secure 129 contracts, $62.4 Million access to capital, served 9784 clients and provided 939 hours of business counseling.
The Capital Readiness Program (CRP) funded by Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), September 2023-April 2025, was designed to help SEDI entrepreneurs effectively start, grow, and access the necessary capital to scale their enterprises. The program helped form/scale 135 businesses, $104 Million access to capital, graduated 339 entrepreneurs and helped retain/create 3408 jobs.
In 2019, HEDCO and community partners provided funding for office renovations and resurfacing of the main sidewalk. This launched the Kokokahi Women’s Business Center Satellite, enabling an expansion of business services to the small business community in the Windward area and facilitating the preparation for additional programming.
Wells Fargo's Open for Business Fund, a roughly $420 million initiative, launched in 2020 to support small businesses, particularly those impacted by the pandemic. This fund aimed to provide access to capital and resources. The initiative has helped over 336,000 small businesses and created or preserved over 461,000 jobs. Pictured: Noriko Namiki, CEO, YWCA Oahu, Jodi Chang, Wells Fargo, & Terri Funakoshi, COO YWCA Oahu.
The 2021 Enterprising Women of Color initiative, launched by the Minority Business Development Agency, aimed to promote women entrepreneurs of color as engines of economic growth in their communities. This initiative focused on supporting minority women-owned businesses in securing contracts and capital, creating jobs, and fostering competitive business growth. Picture: EWOC Center Blessing
The Minority Business Development Agency’s Capital Readiness Program (CRP) is a $125 million technical assistance initiative aimed at helping socially and economically disadvantaged (SEDI) entrepreneurs secure capital. In its first year (2023), the CRP served over 6,300 clients, helped raise $263 million in capital. Picture: The Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center honored CRP awardees YWCA Oahu on the Nasdaq Tower in Times Square.