Quarterly Newsletter #2
December 2016
To all of our members and friends across Canada
The Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) wishes you and your clients a most successful and enjoyable holiday season and a prosperous and serene New Year.

We look forward to momentous and exciting 2017 where all of the dreams we have, the projects we support and the seeds we have planted will come to fruition!
I n This Issue:
  • The Canadian Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference - Reflections
  • Business Women in International Trade (BWIT)
  • Member Spotlight: NLOWE
The Canadian Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference - Reflections
On November 9,  Minister of Small Business and Tourism (ISED), Bardish Chagger, held a conference in Toronto for women entrepreneurs and women business support organizations. Those of us who were able to attend were well rewarded with speakers and panelists who inspired and encouraged attendees by sharing their experiences and knowledge. The Canadian Women’s Entrepreneurship Conference featured: enthusiastic and entertaining  emcee duties by Shereen Benzvy Miller; a keynote by the always articulate and dedicated Farah Mohamed (G(irls)20); Ministerial remarks by Minister Chagger and Minister Patty Hajdu; panels on topics including Growing Your Business, Social Innovation, Career Mentorship, and Access to Capital. 

Attendance was excellent which led to great opportunities for networking and exchange of ideas and best practices.  If the conference is offered again next year, we highly recommend it for a very effective way to connect and re-connect with the movers and shakers in the field of women’s entrepreneurship in Canada.
Events of Interest
WEConnect International Day

June 19, 2017
Las Vegas, NV |  Learn more here

WBENC 2017 National Conference & Business Fair 
June 20-22, 2017  
Las Vegas, NV | Learn more here
Go for the Greens Business Development Conference for Women 
September 14-16, 2017
Orlando, FL | Learn more here

WBE Canada Conference 

September 28, 2017  
Toronto, Ontario |  Learn more here
Business Women in International Trade (BWIT)
Since its inception in 1997, the Canadian Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) program of the Trade Commissioner Service has been providing targeted products and services to help women entrepreneurs globalize. Through its vast reach of Trade Commissioners in more than 160 cities across Canada and worldwide, BWIT’s mandate is to link Canadian women entrepreneurs with international business opportunities to help spur economic growth, job creation and broad-based prosperity. The program’s activities help to integrate women into the global marketplace and participate in global value chains.

Canada’s approach to supporting women-owned enterprises is to offer a suite of innovative programming to assist them in growing their businesses abroad. This includes targeted services for women that assist businesses with market expansion, including: a dedicated website, an annual and monthly newsletter, a LinkedIn group, a specialized directory for women-owned businesses, and women-focused trade missions. Trade missions provide women-owned businesses with opportunities to succeed internationally through educational, networking and matchmaking opportunities.

BWIT works with other government departments, businesswomen’s associations, service providers and private organizations across Canada to assist women entrepreneurs to meet their exporting potential, particularly through support of supplier diversity certification.  Currently, 97% of Fortune 500 corporations have supplier diversity programs.  By actively promoting the benefits of women-owned certification, the BWIT program contributes to procurement opportunities for Canadian women-owned companies with participating corporate and government entities worldwide.

SOME FACTS: 

  • Women-owned businesses employ over 1.5 million Canadians. In 2013, self-employed individuals and businesses with fewer than 50 employees accounted for 29% of Canada’s total GDP.  Of Canada’s exporting SMEs, 16.6% are 50% women-owned and 7.6% are over 50% women-owned.
  • Canada is committed to working with business and industry stakeholders to offer key services that will help Canadian business women in international markets.
  • Where public resources have been committed to developing and implementing targeted programs to support women entrepreneurs, particularly in private-public programs, both the level of awareness and the activity of women entrepreneurs increase substantially.
    WEOC Member Spotlight
    The Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE)
    The Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE) is the only organization in the province focused exclusively on women business owners.

    We are a provincial organization, with Business Advisors located throughout the province and will travel to clients and members who need assistance in starting or growing their businesses. Any women interested in starting-up a business or one who owns and operates an existing business is able to avail of our business counseling services free of charge. 

    We at NLOWE are committed to ensuring that women business owners from every region of the province are getting the support and services they need. We stay ahead of economic trends so that we can encourage business development in key growth sectors. We provide training and networking to help women business owners enhance their skill sets and make the right connections to grow their business. We are advocates, encouraging government, industries and corporations to include women-owned businesses as part of their supply chains and ensure supports are in place to assist the establishment and further growth of women entrepreneurs. Our focus is on women business owners and no other professional business organization offers the broad base of support and expertise we have available to women entrepreneurs in this province.

    We have a membership of more than 400 members, which includes both women business owners and corporations and organizations that support the goals and objectives of the organization.

    NLOWE provides services to women in business thanks to the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

    For more information regarding the services we provide, please visit www.nlowe.org.