Minister Ng Announces Funding for Women in Entrepreneurship

MIL OSI Translation. Canadian French to English

Source: Government of Canada – MIL OSI in French 2

The EFS Ecosystem Fund for Entrepreneurship will help support women-owned or women-owned businesses

September 28, 2018 – Toronto, Ontario

Women's full participation in the economy is critical to Canada's competitiveness, because when women succeed, everyone wins.

That is why, in the 2018 Budget, the federal government launched the first-ever Women's Entrepreneurship Strategy (BSE), in which it invests $ 2 billion to double the number of businesses that are or are majority-owned by businesses. women by 2025.

Today, the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, the Honorable Mary Ng, and the Minister of Status of Women, the Honorable Maryam Monsef, along with women entrepreneurs and business leaders, announced the creation of the SFE Ecosystem Fund and participated in a panel on women's entrepreneurship.

The investment, capped at $ 85 million, will help organizations overcome the barriers and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and provide enhanced support and programs for women-owned and women-owned businesses.

The Women in Entrepreneurship Strategy builds on the Government of Canada's actions to promote gender equality, including addressing pay equity, reducing the cost of child care, and end violence based on sex.

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"Our government believes that women's economic empowerment is not just the right thing to do, it's also good. That's why we launched the Women in Entrepreneurship Strategy, which aims to double the number of women-owned and women-owned businesses by increasing their access to funding sources, networks and programs. advice. It is a wise investment with positive socio-economic benefits. I am delighted that the Ecosystem Fund for the Women in Entrepreneurship Strategy is helping to foster women's entrepreneurship from coast to coast to coast. – Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, the Honorable Mary Ng

"Investing in women strengthens the economy for the benefit of the entire population. This is exactly what our government is doing with the Women in Entrepreneurship Strategy and the significant investments it has announced during Gender Week. By supporting women in business, we work to grow the ranks of the middle class and create a prosperous economy for our sons and daughters. And we have $ 150 billion of reasons to do it, because that is what we will contribute to our GDP in less than a decade, if we succeed in taking the right steps to promote equality, for example in promoting women's participation in the labor market. – Minister of Status of Women, the Honorable Maryam Monsef

Quick facts

The Women in Entrepreneurship Strategy (SFE) will help women start and grow their businesses by facilitating access to sources of funding, talent, networking and expertise through a close investment. $ 2 billion.

The Strategy will help the government achieve its goal of doubling the number of women-owned businesses by 2025.

SFE programs complement broader government initiatives to help women. These programs include measures to increase pay equity, flexibility of parental leave and affordability of child care.

Promoting gender equality could add $ 150 billion to Canada's gross domestic product by 2026.

Less than 16% of SMEs in Canada are majority-owned by women.

Only 8.4% of the majority of women-owned SMEs export, compared to 12.8% of those held predominantly by men.

According to the 2015-2016 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor's Women in Entrepreneurship Report, Canada had the highest rate of women in the early stages of start-up (13.3%) and ranked fifth ranking of the proportion of women-owned businesses among comparable innovation-based economies.

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Contacts

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on Twitter: @ISDE_CA

Follow Canada Business on Social Media: Twitter: @businesscanada.com: @BusinessCanada

Mallory ClyneDirector of CommunicationsCabinet of the Minister of Small Business and Export Promotionmallory.clyne@canada.ca

Media RelationsInnovation, Science and Economic Development Canada343-291-1777ic.mediarelations-mediasrelations.ic@canada.ca

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and / or sentence structure not be perfect.