How women entrepreneurs are unlocking access to capital to grow their businesses
Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (external link) (AWE) hosted the 2024 AWE Summit on Sept. 27, 2024, a premier event for women business leaders and service providers to entrepreneurs, centered around the theme "Unlocking Capital for Business Growth." The summit was full of panel discussions, exciting learning opportunities and engaging networking for participants from across the province. Participants had direct access to sources of capital and funders; gained actionable strategies to secure, manage and maximize capital; and connected with potential clients and key partners while learning from top entrepreneurs and experts.
Attendees heard presentations from women entrepreneurs, including Taunya Woods Richardson, founder and CEO of Nail the Numbers; Lindsay Booker, owner and registered psychologist at Springbank Psychology; Milena Radakovic, president of NEXUS Exhibits and board chair at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization (WEDO) Canada; Melanie Harris, CEO and physical therapist of Functional Therapy; and Shashi Behl, founder and CEO of Joydrop.
They also heard from those who work to support entrepreneurs, including Marcela Mandeville CEO of Alberta Women Entrepreneurs; Catherine Glambeck, capital relationship strategist from Alberta Women Entrepreneurs; Bontu Galataa, entrepreneur strategist at ATB Financial; Shannon Pestun, senior financial advisor from the Diversity Institute’s Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH); Juliet Cruz, senior account manager at Business Development Canada; and Allison Kirkland, CEO of the Women's Enterprise Organizations of Canada.
Shannon Pestun, senior financial advisor at WEKH, presents a closing keynote address at the Alberta Women Entrepreneurs conference on Sept. 27, 2024.
In the day’s closing keynote, Pestun shared some of the findings from the 2024 State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada report that highlighted the importance of bringing awareness to the gender financing gap in entrepreneurship. She highlighted several findings:
- Women entrepreneurs continue to earn less than men entrepreneurs in Canada. In 2022, about 37.1% of women entrepreneurs, including majority owners of small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed women, earned less than $50,000 annually, compared to 31.7% of men entrepreneurs. In contrast, 10.9% of women entrepreneurs earned more than $150,000, compared to 14.8% of men entrepreneurs.
- Access to financing remains a top concern for women entrepreneurs, especially those with an intersectional identity, who face even greater hurdles in accessing financing.
- Women founders receive only 4% of venture capital funding in Canada.
