Impacts of Women's Enterprise Centre in British Columbia

1995

Today    

Western Economic Diversification Canada’s (WD) initial research identified gender-specific barriers to, and gaps in, support for self-employed women, particularly in the area of financing.

  • The Women's Enterprise Centre began with 1 staff member and a $5M loan fund from Western Economic Diversification Canada to respond to the need by women entrepreneurs for financing they were unable to obtain from traditional lenders. 

WD initiated the Women’s Enterprise Centre to provide:

  • financing for women entrepreneurs
  • financing for women business owners  
  • professional, complimentary business counselling support
  • business training courses and resources
  • acess to research, articles, web links, WOMEN’S ENTERPRISE CENTRE newsletter
  • conferences and workshops

Women’s Enterprise Centre now has 14 staff in 3 offices in BC and over the past 10 years has:

  • provided over $7.5M in direct financing to women-owned businesses in BC, through its lending program (loans up to $100,000 for new or existing businesses)
  • leveraged an additional $10.7M of outside financing to our clients from other lenders
  • facilitated over 140 new business starts
  • assisted additional 166 women business owners to grow or stabilize through loans to expand or purchase a business responded to 28,461 inquiries for information
  • conducted 21,292 business advisory sessions with 6,586 women seeking business advice and assistance
  • trained 10,890 women in 1,032 Women’s Enterprise seminars and workshops to improve their business skills
  • helped eliminate barriers by increasing access to information and resources and by referring clients to complementary services
  • remained current with changing needs of women entrepreneurs and responded to changes by consistently evaluating, adding and revising programs and services 
  • Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) provided $5 million in repayable loan funds, plus $8.5 million in direct support to the Women’s Enterprise Centre since 1995
  • The total impact on the BC economy since 1995 of the Women’s Enterprise Centre’s lending program alone is over $364 million (including our direct and leveraged financing) 
  • WOMEN’S ENTERPRISE CENTRE opened its head office in Kelowna in 1995 
  • Women’s Enterprise Centre now has offices and business advisors in Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria.
  • Women’s Enterprise Centre began as an initiative of WD.

 
  • Women’s Enterprise Centre is now the pre-eminent agency in BC serving women business owners.  Our partners include Women’s business networks, the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, the Minerva Foundation, Small Business BC, FEDO, Chambers of Commerce around the province, CFDC’s, Van City, Coast Capital, BDC, and many more.