To celebrate Women’s History Month, Gateway Technical College and the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation have partnered to host a competition for female entrepreneurs who create innovative products or services that impact the lives of women and families.

The Innovateher Business Challenge hosted at Gateway is the Wisconsin version of the national competition sponsored by the US Small Business Administration. The competition is for those products which specifically have a measurable impact on the lives of women and families, have the potential for commercialization, and fill a need in the marketplace.

The top local winner could be one of top 10 national winners to travel to Washington DC the week of May 4 to pitch their idea to a panel of judges and have the opportunity to win up to $15,000.

Contestants must produce a video which is due to Gateway no later than 5 p.m. March. 6. A panel of judges will review the videos and select award winners March 12.

The video should be in MP4 format, 3 minutes to 5 minutes long and illustrate how the entrepreneur’s business impacts the lives of women and families. Videos will be judged on the content, not quality – camera phones are acceptable. Videos should be submitted to Kristin Niemiec at niemieckk@gtc.edu.

An award reception will be hosted 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. March 12 at the SC Johnson integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Technology Center in Sturtevant.

For further questions on submitting an entry for the contest, please contact Kristin Niemiec at niemieck@gtc.edu.