Sarah Steele, Senior Director, Small Business, Visa Canada
CanadianSME Small Business magazine recently got a chance to chat with Sarah Steele, an award-winning finance professional with more than 15 years of vast experience in leading intricate projects encompassing different industries and being a positive pillar to her team members. She has always been well-equipped with the best solutions and is an accomplished problem solver for her team. With varied experiences from institutional to consumer groups, product management, consulting, front and back office, Sarah aims to support women entrepreneurs who have a zeal to do something great not only for themselves but also for the Canadian economy. She spoke to us regarding the stature of women-led businesses in Canada and the most common hiccups that women entrepreneurs need to overcome to be successful. She also talked about Visa, Canada, and the She’s Next Grant Program designed to fund Canadian women-led businesses in collaboration with IFundWomen. Read on!
Sarah is an award-winning financial professional, with over 15 years of experience leading product strategy, complex projects, and thought leadership. Her accomplishments and experiences are varied, spanning the consumer and institutional groups, front and back office, consulting and product management.
As Senior Director of Small Business at Visa Canada, Sarah is responsible for the development and roll-out of Visa’s products, platforms, and resources in the Canadian marketplace.
What do you think is the most important thing for Canadian women-owned-and-led businesses when it comes to growth?
Visa has long been a supporter of the small business community and based on our work with small businesses (SBs), we know that to achieve growth, access to funding is one of the most important things. In fact, a recent survey found that funding for women-owned SBs continues to be a challenge, with only 79% indicating they have full funding for the operation, compared to 85% of businesses owned by men.
While women-owned SBs continue to have unique challenges, succeeding in today’s evolving business landscape requires access to resources, such as business mentorship and financial support.
This is where Visa’s She’s Next Grant Program comes in. It helps address challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and provides them with the support they need. It empowers them to adapt to shifting consumer preferences by harnessing the power of digital tools and finding new opportunities to succeed.
What are some of the challenges that women entrepreneurs face? And why do you think it’s important to support women entrepreneurs?
Even as small businesses rebound from the pandemic, we know that women entrepreneurs continue to face unique challenges. While Visa’s recent Back to Business study found that 4 out of 5 Canadians are optimistic about their business this year[1], we know that funding for women-owned small businesses continues to be a challenge. A recent study found that women entrepreneurs are less confident in their firm’s financial position compared to men.
Visa’s She’s Next Grant Program aims to bridge the funding gap and provide women with the resources they need.
As a strong supporter of small businesses well before the pandemic, we at Visa understand that these businesses need our support now more than ever to continue recovering and to thrive in the future – this grant program is one way in which we can help to make this happen for women entrepreneurs.
What is Visa Canada’s She’s Next Grant Program? What was the inspiration and motivation behind the launch of this program? And what are you hoping to achieve through it?
Visa Canada’s She’s Next Grant Program aims to bridge the funding gap for women entrepreneurs. The Program was first launched this time last year, in response to women-owned small businesses being disproportionately affected during the pandemic. During each round, ten Canadian women entrepreneurs are awarded $10K CAD each and one year of business coaching to support growing and expanding their business.
On February 22, 2022, just in time for International Women’s Day, Visa Canada announced the next round of the She’s Next Grant Program. Ten additional women entrepreneurs in Canada have the opportunity to apply for the grant from February 22 until March 15. Applications are open to Canadian women entrepreneurs across all sectors at https://ifundwomen.com/visacanada.
We were so inspired by previous recipients – and the chance to support such an amazing, diverse group of businesses across Canada – that we launched a second and third iteration of the program to continue making a meaningful difference and help fuel the collective recovery of the small business community.
A Chat with Sarah Steele – Supporting Canadian Women in Business! Share on X
What are the eligibility criteria for the She’s Next Grant Program? And how do you think the She’s Next Grant Program will help women entrepreneurs?
From now until March 15, the She’s Next Grant Program is seeking applications from Canadian women-owned small businesses across all sectors. To participate, applicants are asked to submit details about their business and online presence, along with a short video about their business to https://ifundwomen.com/visacanada. Ten women entrepreneurs will be selected to receive grants of $10KCAD each and coaching for a year from leaders within the Visa and IFundWomen network to help them grow and expand their businesses.
Grant programs fuel growth and innovation, while also addressing important issues within our communities. In fact, according to a 2021 Visa survey, 48% of women small business owners indicated a grant would be helpful for near-term survival or growth. Furthermore, it was revealed that a $10K grant would cover at least half of the financing needs for over 60% of these small businesses. Among those that could use financing help, 43% say a grant of $10K would cover all their short-term needs[2].
Previous recipients have used this grant to introduce e-commerce and digital payment solutions that have contributed to their growth. This has proven invaluable considering a SBs digital presence emerged as a major contributing factor in helping them sustain during the pandemic: more than 80% attribute their survival to e-commerce, with nearly half of their revenue (47%) coming from online channels[3].
What is your advice to female entrepreneurs looking to start their own business during 2022?
Canadian consumers continue to show their support for small businesses. According to a 2021 study by Visa, when it comes to where to shop, a majority (61%) of Canadians planned to shop locally. While more than one-third (35%) plan to shop at small businesses more often this year[4]. Women entrepreneurs can benefit by keeping in mind evolving consumer habits, such as the increase in e-commerce, and leveraging resources like those found on Visa’s Small Business Hub, to help drive efficiency through sales and digital solutions. Tools like this can be incredibly beneficial to help entrepreneurs learn how to start and grow their online businesses.
[1] Visa Back to Business Canada study 2022
[2] In January 2021, the Visa Canada Small Business Outlook Spring Survey surveyed 1,010 Canadian business owners and business decision makers from various sectors using the Maru Voice research panel, as part of Maru’s quarterly BizPulse study. Fielding took place between Jan 20th and Jan 29th, 2021.
[3] Visa Back to Business Canada Study 2022
[4] Visa Back to Business Canada study 2022
