Celebrating Women’s Entrepreneurship Day
The Honourable Rechie Valdez, now serving as Minister of Small Business, introduced a significant bill on November 17, 2022, during her tenure as Member of Parliament for Mississauga—Streetsville. This bill proposed November 19 as National Women’s Entrepreneurship Day (WED) in Canada. This event is part of an international movement led by the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) in Canada—a global movement observed in 144 countries and at the United Nations. Last year, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) celebrated Women’s Entrepreneurship Day by opening the Toronto Stock Exchange. This year, in recognition of WED, WEKH participated in major events that unite and strengthen the women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem from coast to coast. It’s been a month filled with meaningful connections, important conversations and celebrations of the achievements of women entrepreneurs. Here’s a look at some of those high-energy gatherings as we continue to amplify the voices of women in business and champion their ongoing success.
A taste of success at the City of Toronto Small Business Forum
WEKH launched its celebration of women’s entrepreneurship early at the City of Toronto’s Small Business Forum on October 30, where over 2,000 attendees filled the Meridian Banquet Hall for a vibrant day of networking under the theme, Taste of Success: Navigating the World of Food Business. Entrepreneurs, industry experts and Valdez visited the WEKH booth, engaging in lively discussions about the future of women-led ventures in the food and beverage industry.
Startup Canada tour: The pulse of entrepreneurial energy
That same day, on October 30, WEKH headed to Kitchener-Waterloo for the final stop of the Startup Canada tour, where nearly 600 entrepreneurs gathered for an action-packed day of workshops, panels and networking sessions. Faria Jafri, founder of Haami Lingerie Inc., noted: “The Startup Canada tour was electric! It was incredible to be part of a thriving community of entrepreneurs cheering each other on.” As a proud partner of the Startup Canada tour, WEKH played a role in guiding and supporting ambitious attendees eager to scale their businesses.
Empowering rural women entrepreneurs at Business Sisters Annual Conference
On November 4, WEKH’s executive director, Sabine Soumare, opened the Business Sisters | Consœurs en Affaires Annual Conference with recent insights from the 2024 State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada (SOWE) report, sparking conversations about the unique challenges faced by rural and small-town women entrepreneurs.
Promoting supplier diversity for women entrepreneurs
WEKH and Maïa Connex partnered to promote supplier diversity and support women entrepreneurs. In a French-language webinar (November 13), followed by an English session a few days later (November 18), Dr. Tania Saba, BMO Chair in Diversity and Governance at Université de Montréal, co-chair of the WEKH Advisory Committee and leader of WEKH’s Quebec – Francophone Hub, explored the challenges of women entrepreneurship in Canada, emphasizing the importance of procurement and innovation.
Suzanne Donofrio, from the Quebec Business Women’s Network, introduced the Maïa Connex platform—a practical tool designed to help women entrepreneurs access new markets and build successful partnerships. Together, these initiatives offer concrete solutions to strengthen the growth of women-led businesses.
Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan: Procure with Her
Held November 19, on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, the Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK) event Procure With Her connected women-owned and -led businesses with procurement professionals and ecosystem partners. The event addressed the gender entrepreneurship gap and promoted inclusive procurement practices. Cukier started the event in the morning with a presentation on the State of Women’s Entrepreneurship, focusing on procurement. Her insights highlighted the opportunities, challenges and strategies for fostering an inclusive procurement process and the opportunities for women and diverse entrepreneurs.
Impact Week: Highlighting the social economy
As part of Impact Week, Saba presented the State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2024: A Social Economy Perspective. Saba noted that women now are majority owners of 20% of incorporated businesses and almost 40% of self employed Canadians. Often the focus on economic growth obscures the importance of social entrepreneurship and contributions to the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Women entrepreneurs and Indigenous entrepreneurs, for example, are far more likely to emphasize community benefits and sustainability than others making significant contributions in addition to creating jobs, driving innovation and exporting.
In Quebec – Prix de femmes d’affaires du Québec
Saba also represented WEKH as the proud gold sponsor of the 24th edition of the Prix Femmes d’affaires du Québec in Montreal, a prestigious event that celebrates the leadership and achievements of women leaders from diverse sectors.
Nearly 650 guests from across Canada gathered to support these talented women entrepreneurs. Among the attendees were Jean Boulet, Minister of Labour and Steven MacKinnon, Minister for Seniors and Labour from the Government of Canada, who joined Ruth Vachon, president and CEO of the Réseau des femmes d’affaires du Québec, at the head table.
WEDO: Celebrating women entrepreneurs in the digital era
On November 13, WEKH sponsored and participated in the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) Summit in Toronto. Hosted at the Toronto Metropolitan University, this summit, part of a five-city event across Canada, celebrated the theme Rise with her: Empowering women entrepreneurs in the tech & digital age, bringing together over 60 women entrepreneurs from across Ontario for a day filled with inspiration, knowledge and connection.
The summit opened with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and technology, providing women entrepreneurs with practical insights into using AI to streamline daily tasks and increase efficiency. The agenda included expert-led sessions on branding, content creation and digital marketing strategies, providing a strong foundation for entrepreneurs looking to boost their digital presence and leverage the latest technological tools.
Soumare discussed WEKH’s role in strengthening the ecosystem as part of the $7-billion Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), which provides funding, builds connections and invests in research to support and uplift women entrepreneurs. Sabine also underscored WEKH’s commitment to bridging gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem through meaningful research and advocacy.
Canadian Ethnic Studies Association: Bridging divides and promoting inclusion
The DI and WEKH team participated in the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association 2024 conference from November 14 to 16 in Edmonton, Alta.
Guang Ying Mo, DI’s director of research, led two sessions on newcomer and immigrant entrepreneurship, emphasizing opportunities and challenges, and sharing insights about the Newcomer Entrepreneurship Hub, a partnership between DI and Scadding Court Community Centre (SCC) that supports aspiring newcomer entrepreneurs in all stages of the business cycle, offering training by industry professionals, networking and testing opportunities, and mentorship. She also spoke about SCC’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Hub (WE-Hub), for which DI is also the delivery partner; WE-Hub provides future skills and entrepreneurship training through a bootcamp-style program, and offers wraparound supports to encourage participation from women experiencing barriers to employment.
What’s next for WEKH
These events are just a glimpse of WEKH’s active participation across the country this month, culminating on today’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. From coast to coast to coast, our team is committed to amplifying the voices of women entrepreneurs and driving real change. As we continue this journey, WEKH will take the stage at more events and engage in conversations that shape the future of the women’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Visit our events page for upcoming events, as we continue to connect with and champion women in business!