Exciting. Innovative. Challenging. Thrilling. Inspiring. Dynamic. Collaborative. Transformative. So many adjectives to describe our experiences in 2024 and our expectations for 2025.
Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) is privileged to be part of an ecosystem that is committed to helping women-owned businesses grow and thrive. While there is always more work to do, the start of a new year is a time to look back and take stock of what has been accomplished.
At the top of our 2024 List of Highlights is the WEOC National Loan Program. With funding from the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, our goal was to make financing more accessible for women entrepreneurs.
Taking a holistic view of the business and the entrepreneur, not just reviewing credit score and collateral, are the first steps in creating systemic change in lending processes. As an administrator of the Loan Fund, WEOC is committed to breaking down barriers that prevent women from accessing the capital needed to start and grow their businesses.
Our network of expert advisors across Canada provide innovative business programs and resources, including training, advising and mentorship to support clients through the life of her business. They have long recognized that a ‘one-size fits all’ approach to providing business support is an antiquated model that doesn’t address the myriad needs, experiences, and circumstances of women entrepreneurs.
Since WEOC disbursed its first loan in November 2022, we have provided more than 300 women entrepreneurs with over $13 million in financing. Our ‘secret sauce’ is meeting the entrepreneur where she is. This is often a multi-step process that begins with changing attitudes about borrowing – self-financing isn’t necessarily a good business decision and leveraging capital can help grow the business more quickly.
Supporting women entrepreneurs is good for families, communities and the Canadian economy. It isn’t easy or quick to change process or perceptions but we are moving in the right direction and we look forward to continuing our work supporting many more women entrepreneurs in 2025.
Alison Kirkland
CEO, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada
A leader in the women’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Alison was named WEOC’s inaugural CEO in 2019. Since then, she has guided WEOC’s growth from Board-run initiative to integral resource within the women’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. A longtime advocate for increased access to capital for women entrepreneurs, Alison oversees the $30 million WEOC National Loan Program, which was announced by the Government of Canada in 2022. Working closely with national loan fund partners, the program supports entrepreneurs as they start and grow their businesses, offering funding alongside crucial wrap-around services.
