Yahoo! announced Seeds for Success: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs. Here's what they are offering:

Yahoo! Small Business and Carolyn Kepcher, founder of fwm (Finding What Matters) and former star of "The Apprentice," are seeking women who have the next breakthrough idea or a new small business to apply for a chance to win 1 of 3 amazing grant packages.
Apply now, and you could win:

* $20,000 cash
* Mentoring from Carolyn Kepcher and other business leaders

* A web site designed by experts
* And more!

If you make the final three, winning the $20,000 and mentoring, you are in the running for the grand prize. The grand prize includes

• An additional $10,000 cash
• Additional mentoring services from Carolyn Kepcher
• A trip to New York City to meet Carolyn Kepcher and Yahoo! executives
• Media support to drive more attention to the winning business

The deadline is April 6, 2008, so if you have a business idea, apply now at Seeds for Success: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs.

The Jan Norman on Small Business blog quoted a Yahoo! exec in the article Yahoo offers women’s business start-up grants.

“The ‘Seeds for Success’ grant program will help shine a spotlight on the powerful combination of inspiring women, breakthrough business ideas, and the unlimited reach of the Internet, provided by Yahoo! Small Business,” said Yahoo Vice President Susan Vobejda.

Kepcher added: “Women and men have similar entrepreneurial aspirations, but the motivation for women often is different. As an entrepreneur, I am personally familiar with why today, many women launch businesses as a way of maneuvering around challenges found in a traditional work environment.”

Another opportunity for women comes in the form of education. It's a well-funded program aimed at underpriviledged and underserved women worldwide. This five-year project launched by Goldman Sachs aims to help 10,000 Women get business help and education or even earn an MBA. Here's what they intend to do:

10,000 Women Over Five Years Will Receive a Business and Management Education: Over the next five years, Goldman Sachs will support partnerships with universities and development organizations that will lead to 10,000 women receiving a business and management education. The initial partnerships will fund business and management education certificates in countries around the world. These innovative certificate programs are pragmatic, flexible and shorter term and will help open doors for thousands of women whose financial and practical circumstances prevent them from ever receiving a traditional business education. These programs will provide women with the opportunity to develop specific skills, such as drafting a business plan, accounting, public speaking, marketing, management and accessing capital. There will also be a select number of MBA and BA scholarships funded.

They have several other goals, outlined at the What is 10,000 Women? page. There's no way to apply directly to 10,000 Women for funding. You must find a university program that is partnered with the program to see if you can obtain help in the form of mentoring, tuition, or scholarships. A fact sheet available at the site lists the colleges and universities around the world that are partnering on this project.

According to Stacy Blackman Consulting, in 10,000 Women Campaign Kicks Off,

10,000 Women will pursue a variety of ways to provide a business and management education to underserved women. For instance, schools will work together to establish or expand certificate programs ranging from 5 weeks to 6 months that could include courses in marketing, accounting, market research, writing a business plan, strategic planning, accessing capital and e-commerce.