The number of women in the workforce is close to surpassing that of men, yet the number of female venture capital partners dropped to a paltry six percent in 2014, down from 10 percent in 1999. To buck the trend, the U.S Small Business Association created the InnovateHER Challenge, a national competition designed to highlight and support women in business and generate positive changes in gender equality across the United States.
Brought to the islands by Boutique venture firm Sultan Ventures and the Patsy T. Mink Center for Business and Leadership, the InnovateHER Hawaii Challenge singled out two O‘ahu women making an impact in the field of education. Based on their pitches to an audience of more than 200 people, Jennifer Kramer and Bianca Tubolino were selected as Hawai‘i’s regional finalists. Kramer, founder of Edutunes.com Inc., a company that produces music-based learning tools to accelerate classroom education, pitched a computer app that helps children learn to read. Tubolino is the creator of Jetset ESL, an interactive and multi-platform workshop that connects language learners from developing countries to native English speakers through online cultural immersion. These entrepreneurs have a chance to be accepted in the national competition in Washington, D.C.
