New Initiative Pledges Financial Support to Women-Owned Businesses in Hamilton

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Published September 26, 2019 at 2:21 pm

Good news for Canadian business owners who happen to be women—a new initiative has pledged $3 billion towards women-owned businesses.

Good news for Canadian business owners who happen to be women—a new initiative has pledged $3 billion towards women-owned businesses.

Dubbed “The Scotiabank Women Initiative,” it was announced Thursday (Sept. 26), at the Un-Mentorship Boot Camp for women entrepreneurs which took place in Toronto, that the initiative will provide up to $3 billion in funding to women-led businesses across Canada over its first three years.

“We are committed to strengthening equality for women-led businesses and that includes providing equal access to capital and to our full suite of financing solutions,” Gillian Riley, president, and CEO of Tangerine, and executive sponsor of The Scotiabank Women Initiative said in a news release.

“We use a holistic and grassroots approach that provides tangible benefits to help women grow and sustain their business. In addition to providing access to capital, our program also offers mentorship from Scotiabank executives on our Advisory Board and education tailored to the needs of women entrepreneurs—both through an online self-directed knowledge centre and in-person sessions,” Riley added.

The Un-Mentorship Boot Camps—which are half-day conferences that promote networking and exploring business challenges together—have been a huge part of the Initiative’s education component, and, since the first one in May, 600 women business leaders have participated in boot camps and mini sessions across the country.

“Our boot camps help to ‘un-teach’ those traditionally-held ideas about how women can succeed,” said Riley. “They’re a place where women entrepreneurs come to learn about business-focused issues and topics, hear about real business challenges women face, and network and build skills to move their business forward.”

“We, at Scotiabank, are focused on our clients’ future success and we aspire to be the lender of choice for women-led businesses by 2021,” she added.

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