ICYMI: WES Inclusive Women Venture Capital Info Session
On April 25 2022, The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development announced the creation of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Inclusive Women Venture Capital Initiative. Under this call, $15 million has been allocated to support new projects focusing on responding to barriers in the venture capital environment, especially for diverse, intersectional and/or under-served women.
The Government of Canada will accept applications until June 20, 2022. Not-for-profit organizations who wish to foster connections, cultivate networks, and provide resources, training, and mentorship to address barriers for women in the venture capital environment are eligible. Applicants may also apply as a partnership of not-for-profit organizations or a partnership of not-for-profit and for-profit organizations/entities. The partnership must be led by a not-for-profit organization. Please note: This initiative will not support direct investment in funds, the creation of funds, or direct disbursements to entrepreneurs/enterprises, or research projects that are not directly serving the objectives and desired outcomes of the initiative.
To answer questions about the program and application process, the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) hosted an information webinar in collaboration with Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED.)
If you weren’t able to join us live, watch the replay here. Transcripts are available in English and French.
If you have questions about the program or application process, please contact [email protected].
Resources
Collaborate on your application
Organizations looking to collaborate on applications can use the WEKH/The Forum: Sharing Platform to connect. We recommend using the “Connections” category to post or find others to collaborate with on your application.
The free online platform is available at sharing.wekh.ca. If you’ve never used the platform before, you’ll need to take a minute to create an account and then you’ll instantly be able to post your “Ask” or view others’.
If you have any questions about the Sharing Platform, contact WEKH directly at [email protected].