On March 20, the Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development, the Honourable Mary Ng, traveled to Toronto to attend Elevate’s Women in Tech event, meet with the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA), visit local businesses, and announce the publication of the State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2023: Research Preview, a Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub annual report.
The Inclusive Women Venture Capital Initiative (IWVCI), a $15 million program under the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy that strengthens and builds a more inclusive VC environment for Canadian women entrepreneurs, has selected Elevate and the CVCA as two of five organizations to deliver the program. At an event on March 8 to commemorate International Women’s Day, Minister Ng announced the five organizations that will receive funding from the IWVCI.
Minister Ng spoke at the Elevate event about programs like BDC Capital’s Women in Technology Venture Fund that help women in technology. This program puts resources into organizations from seed to scale, in arising adventure assets with female accomplices and in new models to urge ladies to become financial backers, growing the organization of financial backers for female pioneers and ladies pioneers to search out as they fabricate new pursuits.
The purpose of the report titled “State of Women’s Entrepreneurship” is to provide government and ecosystem partners with policy and practice guidance based on research on women entrepreneurs in Canada. This year’s new research highlights the role that female entrepreneurs play in driving economic growth, social innovation, and environmental sustainability. For instance:
- women-owned businesses focus more on innovation, as well as on improving organizational processes;
- one half of early-stage women entrepreneurs in Canada increased their use of digital technologies to adapt to the COVID-19 reality; and
- women-owned businesses prioritize inclusivity by providing more opportunities for under-represented groups.
The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy was launched in 2018 and has assisted 10,000 and 12,000 women entrepreneurs in growing their businesses.
