Women-owned businesses represent 42% of all U.S. businesses yet receive just 4% of small business loan dollars. This session explores the largely untapped market opportunity represented by underserved entrepreneurs—and the specific tools, data sources, and underwriting models allowing institutions to say yes to more small businesses profitably and at scale. Industry leaders will examine how AI-powered underwriting is making it possible to evaluate non-traditional data, reduce decision-making subjectivity, and extend credit to businesses traditional models have historically passed over. The discussion will address what it actually takes to build or expand a lending program that reaches minority-, women-, and rural-owned businesses without expanding risk—and how the institutions doing it right are turning inclusive lending into a genuine competitive advantage.
