UIC Business partners with Chicago Sky Foundation to support local entrepreneurs

UIC Business hosted a "Strategy, Innovation, and Scale" workshop June 18 for local small-business owners selected to participate in the Chicago Sky Foundation's 2026 Women's Small Business Cohort.

This summer's 12 cohort members were selected to accelerate Chicago-based, women-owned small businesses through networking, workshops and an opportunity to pitch for one of four $20,000 nondilutive grants at the completion of the program in July.

UIC's one-day "Strategy, Innovation, and Scale" workshop, hosted at UIC's Innovation Center, provided instruction, collaboration and coaching to support cohort members in value proposition design for strategic competitive advantage, identifying pathways to innovation through business model-thinking, and considering opportunities and avenues to growing and scaling their businesses.

The workshop was led by Business faculty Kim Moon, senior marketing lecturer, and Dan Hogan, senior entrepreneurship lecturer, with support from Shahnaz Ibrahim, clinical associate professor, management.

UIC's Flames Athletic Center served as the Chicago Sky's official Training Camp home in 2026, and as an extension of that partnership, UIC Business and the Chicago Sky Foundation began discussions to explore opportunities for impactful partnership in Chicago. The "Strategy, Innovation, and Scale" workshop piloted the extension of this relationship, and ongoing collaboration and engagement is anticipated going forward.