Up to $50,000 Now Available Through the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund
Loans of up to $50,000 are now available to women entrepreneurs and business owners through the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund. The loans will be provided by Evol, an organization financially supported by the Québec Ministère de l’Économie et de l’Innovation (MEI) and the Government of Canada, with a mission to contribute to the creation, growth and acquisition of diversified and inclusive businesses.
On December 1st, Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, joined by Emmanuella Lambropoulos, Member of Parliament for Saint-Laurent, and Sévrine Labelle, Chief Executive Officer of Evol, informed the public of this initiative.
“Evol has more than 25 years of experience in financing and specialized support for women-owned businesses. By establishing value-generating businesses, women are actively participating in creating a better world,” says Sevrine Labelle, Chief Executive Officer at Evol. “Thanks to the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, Evol and its partners, MicroEntreprendre and Entreprendre ici, will be able to support women even more in realizing their ambitions,” she adds.
Minister Ng highlighted that, since its launch, the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund has been supporting women entrepreneurs across the country and has distributed $55 million in loans to those starting up and growing their businesses, with a majority of the recipients being under-represented women.
“The Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund was launched to support women-led businesses that may not have been able to reach their full potential, in order to tap into the important skills and talents they bring to the table,” Minister Ng adds. “Our government knows that the return on this investment means more than just more equal footing for women entrepreneurs because when women succeed, we all succeed.”
This announcement follows a series of initiatives aimed at diversifying the secondary wood industry.
At the end of the summer, the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) National Loan Program was launched to make it easier for Canadian women and non-binary entrepreneurs to start, grow, and maintain their businesses.
Later, Minister Qualtrough announced that up to $3 million in funding was available to private and not-for-profit businesses, unions, provincial and municipal governments, and Indigenous organizations through the Women in Skilled Trades Initiative.
The government also created the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy and the Black Entrepreneurship Program to help remove systemic barriers faced by under-represented groups.
The Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund is a key part of this $6 billion Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.
With Evol set to distribute $7 million in loans – partnering with MicroEntreprendre and Entreprendre ici – the Government of Canada is now ensuring that even more women can access capital to start or grow their businesses.
Evol will work with women entrepreneurs at every stage of the application process and deliver wrap-around business support, including helping applicants with the development of viable business plans, and providing advisory services, training and loan aftercare.
More information on Evol’s Loan Fund Program.