Women Ecosystem Fund (WEF)

To be eligible for the Women Ecosystem Fund (WEF) program, applicants must:

• Be a Canadian not-for-profit organization or association at the local, regional, or national level and fall under at least one of the five categories:
  • Business and entrepreneur support organizations
  • Research/innovation hubs
  • Organizations that certify diverse suppliers in Canada
  • Post-secondary institutions, universities, colleges, and technical institutes
  • Indigenous organizations, and business accelerators and incubators
• Applicant must have been in operation for at least three years as of September 26, 2022
• Partner organizations must have a minimum of one year of experience
• Applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements:
  • Have an established mandate focused on supporting women and/or women entrepreneurs
  • Have administered a support program focused on women entrepreneurs/women skills development within the last three years

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The eligible activities for the Women Ecosystem Fund (WEF) are:

• Mentoring or networking
• Facilitate capacity building and skills development opportunities
• Involve innovative business development and deployment supports and/or strategies
• Compilation, development, and delivery of learning materials, policies, procedures, tools, and workshops responsive to the objectives of this initiative
• Establish or strengthen inclusive networks and partnerships that identify and share knowledge and best practices, and/or improve coordination of supports for small businesses and entrepreneurs
• Advance/support procurement and supplier diversity efforts
• Meetings, events, and workshops
• Promotional initiatives to address issues faced by small businesses and entrepreneurs

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