Deadline: 15-Mar-22
The Government of Canada has announced Women Entrepreneurship Strategy’s Ecosystem Fund to increase the access of women-owned businesses to the financing, talent, networks and expertise they provide.
The SFE Ecosystem Fund was designed to provide non-repayable contributions to projects led by non-profit organizations that would help fill service gaps and build capacity within the ecosystem. Female entrepreneurship in Canada.
Under this call, the SFE Ecosystem Fund will help nonprofits build capacity and fill ecosystem gaps for diverse populations of women entrepreneurs. It will focus on building connections and networks, mentoring opportunities, and resources and supports for women entrepreneurs.
This call aims to meet the needs of women from diverse and intersectionality or underserved and aims to:
- Strengthen support measures in the female entrepreneurship ecosystem, including mentoring and networking; and
- Support initiatives aimed at filling specific gaps or helping specific populations of women entrepreneurs.
Areas of Interest
Eligible areas of interest include one or more of the following:
- Expanding business;
- Diversity of suppliers;
- Recovery / adaptation planning;
- Start-up business; and
- Other areas that will support or contribute to the strengthening of the network of organizations of women entrepreneurs in Canada or to the objectives of the Ecosystem Fund.
Funding Information
Under this new call, $ 25 million is allocated to support new projects that aim to address systemic barriers and gaps for underserved, diverse or intersectional women. The expected results of the project will help improve the participation of women entrepreneurs from various backgrounds in the economy by supporting initiatives that allow them to access services adapted to their needs, their context and their unique experiences.
This funding will provide the opportunity to further foster linkages and strengthen the support network within the entrepreneurship ecosystem for diverse women, in addition to ensuring that supports, including mentoring and resources network, are accessible to various women entrepreneurs and meet their needs.
As part of this call, funds will be offered to support:
- National or multiregional projects
- Projects that are national in scope or that serve at least five provinces and territories;
- Priority will be given to projects that provide services in all provinces and territories;
- The project budget should not exceed $ 4,000,000; and
- Projects must have a budget of at least $ 4,000,000.
Priority will be given to eligible organizations providing national services and applying as a partnership.
Eligibility Criteria
- Current recipients of funding from the 2018 SFE Ecosystem Fund Call for Proposals are not eligible to apply. Recipients of the 2018 SFE Ecosystem Fund will have the opportunity to participate in future funding competitions.
- Applicant organizations must be Canadian not-for-profit organizations that operate locally, regionally or nationally and fall into at least one of the following categories:
- Business and entrepreneurship support organizations;
- Research or innovation centers;
- Organizations that certify that they use various suppliers in Canada;
- Indigenous organizations; and
- Business accelerators and incubators.
- Eligible organizations must have been in operation for at least one year (as of March 15, 2021). Applicants must demonstrate that they meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Have an established mandate focused on supporting women and / or women entrepreneurs; and or
- Have existing programs (offered in the past year) focused on upgrading the skills of women entrepreneurs or women.
Note: Law M-30 of the province of Quebec may apply to applicants from Quebec. Applicants must indicate whether they are covered by the bill. This will not affect the evaluation of the proposal.
For more information, visit https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/wes-ecosystem-fund/en/women-entrepreneurship-strategys-ecosystem-fund-application-guide