The federal government hopes to double the amount of women-owned businesses by 2025 with its $2 billion commitment through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. Currently, only 12.5 per cent of SMEs are owned by women.
“Our government believes that women’s economic empowerment is not just the right thing to do; it’s good for the bottom line,” said Mary Ng, the minister for small business and export promotion, in a press release. “That’s why we launched the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, a strategy that seeks to double the number of women-owned businesses by increasing their access to financing, networks and advice. It’s a smart investment with an economic and social return.”
This morning, FedDev Ontario announced a $100,000 investment through this program into the Markham-based Everest Clinical Research Corp.
Everest Clinical Research is a firm which conducts clinical research by contract for firms across the globe in fields such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and medical devices.
“The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy provides effective means to help women-owned businesses flourish and will continue to play a major part in advancing the role of women in Canada’s entrepreneurial landscape,” said Jin Dai, the senior director of business planning and operations for Everest Clinical Research. “By investing the funds into our clinical data analytics dashboard initiative, we will not only elevate the competitiveness of Everest Clinical Research in the industry and generate economic return but also help tangibly improve the efficiency and quality of clinical trials that produce new therapies to treat illnesses and improve people’s lives. Everest is a proud WEF recipient and will continue to nurture the next generation of clinical research and data science leaders in Canada.”
According to the press release, this investment will allow them to develop a new data analytics and visualization
dashboard application.
Additionally, Everest intends to extend its market share in the United States as well as create three new jobs.