Visa Canada, in partnership with IFundWomen, a marketplace for women-owned businesses, is expanding its She’s Next Grant Program to help Canadian women entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
As part of the program, the two companies will once again provide 10 women-owned Canadian small businesses with grants of CA$10,000 each and business coaching for one year from leaders within the IFundWomen network, valued at approximately $1,800 CAD, to support business growth and expansion.
Forty-eight per cent of women small business owners indicated that a grant would be helpful for near-term survival or growth, according to the January 2021 Visa Canada Small Business Outlook Spring survey of 1,010 Canadian business owners and business decision-makers from various sectors. Furthermore, the CA$10,000 grant would cover at least half of the financing needs for over 60 per cent of these businesses.
In May, Visa Canada named 10 women-owned small businesses among the recipients of its first national grant program, which it launched in February 2021 in collaboration with IFundWomen, and the duo is set to help 10 additional Canadian women entrepreneurs.
“We were so inspired by the submissions of the first She’s Next Grant Program early this year, that we decided to launch it again, to continue making a meaningful difference and help fuel the collective recovery of the small business community,” said Stacey Madge, president and country manager, Visa Canada, in a press release.
Related:
Canadian women entrepreneurs getting access to IFundWomen program from Visa Canada
Visa Canada announces winners of IFundWomen grant program
While there are signs of recovery, women-owned businesses in Canada are taking nearly twice as long to recover from the financial setbacks brought on by COVID-19 compared to businesses owned by men, according to accounting software firm FreshBooks.
“Starting, owning or growing a business is an incredible journey but not always an easy one, especially during a pandemic,” said Madge. “The reality is, COVID-19 has had a disproportionate impact on women business owners. Together with IFundWomen, we are excited to provide a much-needed grant to help empower women entrepreneurs to tackle the unique challenges they face while better positioning them to lead our collective recovery, and we remain committed to championing Canada’s small business community.”
Applications are open to Canadian women entrepreneurs across all sectors until August 3, 2021. Interested candidates can apply here.