FedEx & Accion Business Owner Education and Learning

Accelerating business growth for women and entrepreneurs of color

FedEx is committed to helping small business owners everywhere access the resources they need to succeed. The FedEx E-Commerce Learning Lab created by Accion Opportunity Fund and FedEx provides hands-on learning for women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of color to scale their e-commerce operations and develop their consumer base.

The program offers hands-on learning for small businesses new to e-commerce, virtual seminars on advanced e-commerce topics, and micro-courses for continued learning. Participants build their own e-commerce websites and learn how to manage inventory, ordering, fulfillment, and marketing in a test environment before going live with real customers. Upon program completion, each entrepreneur receives a $2,000 grant from FedEx to put toward their e-commerce launch and expansion.

“It was great to hear a variety of business owners, all who started small and had significant growth in the last couple of years, that were willing to share some of their mistakes, tricks, and current processes with us. It is always best to hear and see real life experiences!”
FedEx E-Commerce Learning Lab Cohort 1 participant

“I am no longer in despair and have confidence that this is doable. This showed me that people are willing to help a person like me. Thank you all for this class.”
FedEx E-Commerce Learning Lab Cohort 1 participant

• The FedEx E-Commerce Learning Lab provided e-commerce expertise to nearly 1,400 people in its first eight months.
• Nearly 1,000 business owners have engaged with the online courses.
• 92% feel more prepared to run their business after finishing a Master Seminar.
• 1,680 hours of total educational instruction were provided across all elements of the program.
• 20+ partners collaborated to create, promote, and execute this first year of programming.
• 82% of participants identified as female.
• 77% of participants identified as a person of color.

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