Successful applicants to the WES Ecosystem Fund: Second call (2022)

The second call for proposals of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund is now closed. Below view the list of successful applicants selected for funding.

National Projects

National projects selected under this call will deliver services nationally.
Organization 2018 Ecosystem Fund Recipient Project Description
Women Enterprise Societies of BC
(British Columbia)
Yes This project will support a number of initiatives including: entrepreneurship training in universities to increase gender diversity among student and faculty founders in STEM; development of the growth mindset in early-stage women entrepreneurs; educating women entrepreneurs on proven growth strategies including exporting, supplier diversity, and exploring equity investments into their business; and providing peer mentoring for women entrepreneurs in the advanced stages of their business journey (at least 5 years).
York University
(Ontario)
Yes This project will expand upon services developed as part of the 2018 project. ELLA Canada will provide a 360 degree, online and in-person support to women entrepreneurs at all stages in their entrepreneurial journey, from ideation to scaling. ELLA Express is a self-paced program designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to launch or grow their business. The ELLEvate program then provides access to business coaching, mentorship, workshops and co-development conversations. The ELLA Altitude program will support national and international scale-up and will be open to late-stage entrepreneurs, graduates of our other programs or referrals by regional hub partners.
Women Business Enterprises of Canada Council (WBE Canada)
(Ontario)
No This project will expand certification to include supplier qualifications and capabilities, with a special focus on business/professional services, which is an area of strength for women entrepreneurs. The project aims to address these barriers through the creation of fast track opportunities for Canadian women-owned businesses, by providing supply chain risk assessment and capacity verification.
Asia Pacific Foundation
(Ontario)
Yes This project will build upon work supported as part of the 2018 Ecosystem Fund project. This will include increasing women-only business missions to Southeast Asia, and expanding the networking activities of the Canadian Women's International Network (CanWIN). The proposed project will offer capacity-building and trade support services, tailored for women entrepreneurs, to build their knowledge and confidence to export to Asian markets and encourage them to capitalize upon this opportunity.
Fédération des agricultrices du Québec (FAQ)
(Québec)
Yes This project will support women in the agricultural sector through:bilingual professional co-development groups, the deployment of a one-on-one mentoring program across Canada and the implementation of entrepreneurial support training, expanding the Dimension E program within Canada.
Native Women's Association of Canada
(Québec)
Yes This project will continue and expand upon services offered by #BeTheDrum: continue and expand delivery of critical mentorship and navigation support; deliver 48 workshops or support circles per year; expand Entrepreneur Directory to include an overlay map of resources for entrepreneurs; develop an annual edition of Kci-Niwesq highlighting #BeTheDrum initiatives and entrepreneurs; increase accessibility at the grassroots level by engaging partners and creating regional navigator positions to better address the distinct needs of Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, transgender and gender-diverse entrepreneurs.
Centre for Women in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University
(Nova Scotia)
Yes This project will support the Greater Heights of Growth program, which helps women-led businesses with $1M+ revenue grow through a 12-month program that provides peer-to-peer education and coaching in crucial business skills, leading to job creation, and expansion to new markets. The Grow Now program, delivered in partnership with Volta, will provide step-by-step coaching that helps emerging tech companies ($100k+ revenue) develop strategic growth plans using an objectives and key results framework. As well, the Centre for Women in Business will develop an online program to train business advisors with a gender-based focus that highlights the needs of women tech founders.

Multi-regional projects

Multi-regional projects will serve at least 5 provinces and/or territories.
Organization 2018 Ecosystem Fund Recipient Area of coverage Project Description
United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society (S.U.C.C.E.S.S)
(British Columbia)
Yes BC, AB, SK, ON, QC, NB This project will support delivery of the Integrated Women's Entrepreneurship Project (IWEP), which will enable underserved women entrepreneurs to gain access to online skills training, localized networks of mentors, wrap-around supports and resources that they need to start up, scale and access new markets. It will build on the 2018 WES Ecosystem Fund Project that S.U.C.C.E.S.S. administered by working with organizations experienced in supporting women entrepreneurs in multiple provinces across the country to deliver an asynchronous model.
Alberta Women Entrepreneurs Association
(Alberta)
Yes BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NFLD This project will deliver a range of Digital Transformation programming through partnership with interested WEOC (Women's Enterprise Organizations of Canada) members. Through this program women entrepreneurs will be supported to build and implement digital strategies to grow their businesses. Expert content delivery along with full support services would be provided along with expert advisors.
Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc.
(Saskatchewan)
Yes AB, BC, MB, NWT, ON, QC, SK, YK This project will focus on enhancing and expanding the services of 2018 WES funded project and increase outreach to eight provinces and territories by focusing only on rural, indigenous, under 39 and newcomer women agri-food entrepreneurs. The AWESOME Program provides business start-ups and growth services through one-one-one and group education, including mentorship or coaching activities as part of the project. The project includes a focus on supporting women entrepreneurs with the ideation and prototyping of new food and beverage products.
Manitoba Women's Enterprise Centre Inc.
(Manitoba)
Yes BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC This project will support the Strength in Community Workshops Program ("SCW Program") which is a tiered, 3-part series of facilitated, interactive, virtual workshops focused on meeting women entrepreneurs' stated needs for more opportunities to expand their networks and deepen their business skill sets. Each of the three SCW Program series is comprised of 6-sessions and will be offered in both official languages. SCW 1.0 Program focuses on developing peer connections, setting meaningful business goals, understanding personal strengths, and maximizing them for business growth. SCW 2.0 Program focuses on business development, marketing for growth, and developing strong negotiation skills. SCW 3.0 Program focuses on deepening financial literacy skills and strategies for accessing and developing mentorship relationships in the business community.
The Hamilton YWCA
(Ontario)
Yes BC, AB, SK, NS, ON This project will support the WEC PowerUp National Expansion Project and deliver three project components: 1) PowerUp EXPLORE; 2) PowerUp READY; and 3) PowerUp NETWORK. Powerup EXPLORE will address distinct gaps in accessible services/training offering women foundational financial education and "discovery" training. The PowerUp READY component will provide flexible 10-week business training for women entrepreneurs ready to start or grow their businesses. The PowerUp NETWORK component will address the gaps in women-led networks and mentorship for women in business, by creating local and national networks of support for project participants.
PARO Centre for Women's Enterprise
(Ontario)
Yes BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC,  NS, NFLD This project will establish a multi-provincial network of Prosper Circles. Prosper Circles will provide training and skill development through specialized PARO Prosper BIZCamps, and will focus on areas such as becoming credit and investment-ready, supporting the Green economy, and the food processing journey for FoodPreneurs; peer support; strategic connections, coaching, mentoring, and networking opportunities with access to a Thrive business advisory committee. Prosper Circles will also provide access to Trauma Informed Curriculum for Indigenous Women entrepreneurs and Mooka'am Kwe: She Rises BIZCamps as developed in the current WES regional project – PARO's Enterprising Indigenous Women project.
The DMZ at Ryerson University (Toronto Metropolitan University)
(Ontario)
No BC, AB, ON, NS, NB This project will provide training, networking, education, and awareness raising on entrepreneurship for women. Phase one, Awareness, will highlight examples of successful women entrepreneurs, and provide an accessible, introductory training module for women on entrepreneurship. Phase two, Fundamentals, will build off skills learned in the Awareness phase and provide the fundamental lessons necessary to open a business in an accessible way. Phase three, Scaling Up, will train women on how to effectively scale up a business, increase the number of women-owned businesses engaging in international markets, and accelerate the sales of women-owned businesses.
Conseil Économique du Nouveau-Brunswick (CÉNB)/ Réseau de développement économique et d'employabilité du Nouveau-Brunswick (RDÉE NB)
(New Brunswick)
Yes SK, NS, NB, NFLD, PEI This project aims to deploy the "Solution: Repreneurship" program that already exists into five Canadian provinces in both official languages. This program promotes the purchase of existing businesses by women through coaching and training. In addition, it includes the expansion of the "Carrefour Relève PME" platform, which displays businesses for sale in each province participating in the project.
École des entrepreneurs du Québec
(Québec)
Yes QC, ON, PEI, NB, NS, NFLD This project is divided into two components, one for women entrepreneurs and one for business advisors/coaches. Component I - Training for women entrepreneurs, will provide three training courses, in order to support the creation of businesses and the maintenance and development of existing businesses run by women. Component II - Training of the trainer: training will be provided for business advisors in the ecosystem, to enhance their ability to support women entrepreneurs.