Supporting Calgary’s Young Entrepreneurs
The Women’s Entrepreneurship Hub joins startup founders and partners from across Canada at Futurpreneur
On November 14, Shannon Pestun, senior advisor to the Diversity Institute’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), attended an inspiring event in Calgary. Hosted by Futurpreneur, this event brought together partners from across the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem to celebrate and support local young entrepreneurs. The event underscored the importance of collaboration and community in fostering a thriving entrepreneurial landscape for young business owners.
Since its inception in 1996, Futurpreneur has been a driving force in helping Canada’s young, diverse startup founders aged 18 to 39 years turn their business dreams into reality.Futurpreneur has provided critical support through loan financing, mentorship and essential resources to more than 18.700 aspiring entrepreneurs across the country. To date it has helped launch 14,700 businesses in every province and territory, providing $219 million in loan financiing alongside one-on-one mentorship. Forty two percent of these businesses are women-led, 15% have Black founders and 5% are led by Indigenous entrepreneurs. On average, each business creates four jobs, contributing to Canada’s economic growth and diversity.
Entrepreneurs need access to talent and training. Research has shown that access to talent and skills are among the principal barriers to growth, sustainability and innovation in SMEs. DI has collaborated with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Magnet in the ground breaking SkillsBridge program funded by the Future Skills Centre to provide access to training for SMEs across the country. Programs like the Diversity Institute’s Advanced Digital and Professional Training (ADaPT) a skills development and work placement program provide skills in a range of technical, management and general areas including new programming on AI and green transition. DI has also collaborated on the development of many training programs for entrepreneurs and SMEs including Rise up, for Black Women, the Newcomer Entrepreneurship Hub (NEH), the Women Entrepreneurship Hub (WE-Hub), Capital Skills, the Black African and Caribbean Entrepreneurship Leadership program, Mindframe Connect and other programs across the country. It has also developed a competency framework to identify skills needed at each stage of the entrepreneurial journey, across sectors and for different equity deserving groups. In reflecting on the day, Pestun emphasized the importance of fostering collaboration and inclusivity in entrepreneurship. “One of the most important ways we can accelerate entrepreneurship is by creating a thriving, inclusive ecosystem that works together,” she said. “WEKH is committed to supporting and building partnerships that allow diverse entrepreneurs to thrive.”