Investing in an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem

From June 19 to 20, Global Invest Her hosted the InvestHer Summit in Dublin, Ireland. The multi-day conference welcomed entrepreneurs, investors and policy shapers from around the world. The event consisted of panel discussions and workshops focused on how to increase funding for women-owned businesses.

On the first day of the conference, Wendy Cukier, founder and academic director of the Diversity Institute (DI) and the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH), (external link)  and academic research director of the Future Skills Centre (external link) , delivered a presentation about funding for women entrepreneurs in Canada as part of a panel discussion on the global funding ecosystem. The panel focused on policies in different countries that support women entrepreneurs' access to financing.

Cukier said that in Canada women make up an increasing proportion of business owners;  according to recent data from Mastercard, Canada is ranked third in the world for supporting women entrepreneurs. There is evidence that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, women entrepreneurs are thriving, she said. She pointed to 2023 data that found 18.4% of all businesses are majority-owned by women in Canada compared to 15.6% in 2017. Cukier also highlighted intersectional data (external link)  from 2023 that found almost 25% of Indigenous companies are majority-owned by women, and immigrant women in Canada have a higher rate of self-employment (13%) than do non-immigrant women (11%); for example, almost 50% of South Asian entrepreneurs are women. Further, preliminary findings from the State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2024 (external link)  shows that while women have bridged innovation and export gaps, there is still an earnings gap: 37% of women entrepreneurs earn less than $50,000 annually, compared with 32% of men. 

Cukier outlined how the Canadian government is supporting women entrepreneurs through a $7-billion investment in the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (external link) , which was launched in 2018. “It’s unique because it takes a ‘whole of government approach,’” she said, “engaging every department from agriculture to defence, in creating opportunities for women.” The strategy includes investments in financing for women, as well as in ecosystem organizations to support them. It rests on the evidence provided by the WEKH, a nationwide network that collects and shares data on the landscape, barriers and enablers facing diverse women entrepreneurs. 

Women continue to face major barriers in accessing funding, Cukier said, highlighting that the average amount of financing authorized for men-owned businesses is about 150% higher than that for women-owned businesses. For Black women entrepreneurs, the barriers are amplified, with high borrowing rates. Black women entrepreneurs, like Indigenous women, grapple with systemic racism, along with a lack of networking opportunities, mentorship and training. While financing alternatives like crowdfunding, community funding and micro-loans exist, Cukier said equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) need to be embedded in the financial system to address these barriers. 

Cukier pointed to data from a DI partner, Coralus (external link) , which provides venture capital funding to women and gender-diverse entrepreneurs. From 2022 to 2023, Coralus invested $10 million into businesses owned by women and gender-diverse people. With funding provided to 80 Canadian ventures, it had a repayment rate of 92%. All of the ventures made contributions to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. Despite the stereotypes (external link) , supporting women entrepreneurs is not risky, Cukier said, adding that this investment resulted in the creation of more than 900 jobs. 

Using an ecological model, Cukier said we need to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem by understanding the forces that enable or impede entrepreneurship at the individual, societal and organizational levels. Policies and programs, infrastructure, stereotypes and culture are all important. She pointed to the impact, for example, of Canada’s national child care policies on women. She also discussed the role of gendered stereotypes, which associate entrepreneurship with men and technology, despite the fact that other sectors like health and beauty which have higher margins and lower risk.

At the organizational level, Cukier said we need to focus less on “fixing the women” and more on the policies and programs that exist within organizations that provide access to financing, incubators and accelerators, business intermediaries and post-secondary institutions. She noted that bias is embedded into the “5 Cs” (character, capacity, capital, collateral and conditions) used by financial institutions to assess risk; in the assumptions that shape incubators and accelerators, and even in the textbooks used in entrepreneurship education programs. She recommended the free Diversity Assessment Tool (external link) , which helps organizations assess EDI policies and practices and develop customized strategies.

At the individual level, Cukier highlighted the importance of skills development—not only for women entrepreneurs, but also for decision-makers and gatekeepers. She emphasized the critical role of counseling, coaching and mentoring for women to gain access to opportunities. She also pointed out the impact of privilege and encouraged the audience to look beyond the resources and opportunities that may give someone a leg up, and seek talent instead. She highlighted the important need to name the biases and assumptions that disadvantage women and to work on changing the knowledge, beliefs and behaviours of those in decision-making roles, whether in government, venture capitals or educational institutions.

To close her presentation, Cukier urged everyone to apply an EDI lens in the design, implementation and evaluation of policies and programs for women entrepreneurs. “We need to replicate and scale the programs that work,” she said. She noted that women entrepreneurs are a diverse group, and that more research using disaggregated data is essential to understand their characteristics, intentions and motivations, because, “What gets measured gets done.”