AT&T launches third iteration of She's Connected program

The GIST: AT&T is assembling an all-star team to support women entrepreneurs. On Friday, the telecom giant launched the third iteration of She’s Connected, a program to support women-owned small businesses, and an accompanying content series starring WNBA and NWSL athlete-slash-entrepreneurs.

The details: She’s Connected will profile basketball players A’ja Wilson and Arike Ogunbowale and soccer athletes Kelley O’Hara and Mallory Swanson. AT&T already provides each athlete with a mobility package to assist in their business endeavors.

• The series will also spotlight the company’s new contest for women small business owners where winners will score $20K, a year of AT&T service, and their own episode of She’s Connected. Eyes on the prize.

The trend: This isn’t the first time women’s sports and entrepreneurship have teamed up. Visa used last year’s Women’s Euro as a chance to spotlight women-owned businesses in the U.K. with an ad campaign that celebrated inclusivity on and off the pitch.

Zooming out: Women own 12M of the 33M U.S. small businesses, so an alliance with women’s sports allows AT&T to combat two gender gaps at once. The move also utilizes an innovative sponsorship structure — combining women’s sports spend with broader inclusivity projects to maximize impact — for others to use as a blueprint. Two birds, one stone.