Accelerating Success: Highlights from the 2023 Chemical Industry Accelerator

Chemical Compounds of Success: 6 Corporations Cultivate Chemical Industry Supplier Bonds in 57 Buyer Interactions

On October 12^th, the 2023 Chemical Industry Accelerator, presented by BASF and Ecolab, marked the culmination of an 8-month journey focused on accelerating the participation of its cohort within the Chemical Industry. This program encompassed an in-person session at the 2023 WBENC National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee along with 5 virtual sessions, including a virtual Match & Meet event. Throughout these eight months, WBENC-Certified businesses engaged in an immersive experience alongside our corporate members.

This year, the accelerator’s highlight was the virtual Match & Meet session, during which 57 meetings took place between corporate buyers and Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), involving 27 distinct WBEs and 6 participating corporations: Albemarle, BASF, Celanese, Dow, DuPont, and Ecolab.

The Match & Meet session was open to the 11 accelerator participants, alumni from the 2022 Chemical Industry Accelerator cohort, and other select WBEs who had applied to the Chemical Industry Accelerator. This inclusivity provided a significant opportunity for a wide range of individuals, not solely limited to those who were selected to participate in the Chemical Industry Accelerator.

The virtual programming comprised of expert led sessions including but not limited to:

• ESG & Sustainability: Reducing your Carbon Footprint
• Innovation: Being a Disrupting Factor in the Chemical Industry
• The Art of Bidding: Timing & Nuances for RFPs
• Financial Planning Business Strategies, led by the WBENC Lift Financial Center of Excellence.
• And more!

The Chemical Industry Accelerator is notably characterized by its focus on fostering connections between WBE suppliers and the corporate members who sponsor it. This begins during the program’s selection process and involves continuous development and investment in this partnership throughout the entire 8-month accelerator period.

Participants in the Chemical Industry Accelerator are chosen to join one of two sponsor pods which consist of carefully selected Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) embarking on this chemical industry journey under the sponsorship of either BASF or Ecolab. These two corporations each select a group of WBEs, resulting in a total of 11 participants in the cohort. The in-person orientation and kick-off session at the 2023 WBENC National Conference in Nashville, as well as the virtual education sessions, offer a uniform experience for all WBEs. The sponsor pod provides additional opportunities for engagement and collaboration between the WBEs and their respective corporate sponsors.

Congratulations to the following Women Business Owners for successfully completing the 2023 cohort of the Chemical Industry Accelerator:

Applications for the 2024 Chemical Industry Accelerator are currently open and accepting applications until Friday, February 16th. Interested WBENC-Certified Women Business Enterprises may refer to the Chemical Industry Accelerator programs page and subscribe to the WBENC Newsletter for routine program-related updates.