State of Illinois officials joined First Women’s Bank (in organization) to kick off Women’s Small Business Month in Illinois and to recognize the contributions of hundreds of thousands of women owned businesses in communities across the state. Working alongside the future First Women’s Bank, slated to open in early 2021, Illinois will partner on strategies to expand technical assistance and other resources to drive growth of women businesses in Illinois – which continue to lead on new business expansion, yet who remain historically underrepresented in loans. First Women’s Bank recently announced it has received conditional approval from the FDIC and continues to pass critical milestones on the way to an early 2021 launch. This includes: the selection of its flag ship location at 1308 N. Elston in Chicago (a Farpoint Property); the formation of the First Women’s Bank Advisory Board, expanding its experienced and talented female leadership by adding new members to its boards; and selecting its core technology partner, Fiserv.  According to research compiled by First Women’s Bank, the number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. has grown rapidly—twice as fast as the national average last year and up over 114 percent over the past 20 years. This exponential growth has been driven, in large part, by women of color. Of the approximately 12.9 million businesses owned by women in this country, 50 percent are owned by women of color. For more information on First Women’s Bank and updates on their programs and resources, visit their website at https://www.firstwomensbank.com/