Indian Tradition
Women entrepreneurs are progressively considered as one of the key sources of innovations and economic prosperity in Canada’s changing business world. Nevertheless, the challenge of accessing suitable business credit and funding to some of the already working and prospective women, poses an enormous challenge. At the same time, traditional lenders face certain barriers from passing the loan such as short duration of operation, absence of security or even bias.
This inequality has given rise to the initiative known as the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund which serves as a true instrument for the Canadian society and women in particular to break these glass ceilings and reach their highest aspirations of becoming entrepreneurs. This fund focuses on strengthening the position of women’s businesses by providing the playing field with the financial ammunition and other benefits for the businesses to be started, grow and fight in the Canadian economic arena.
In countries like Canada, where it is important to achieve a more just distribution of wealth, considering there are gender-specific expectations in business, one of the approaches that must be, if not addressed, at least counterbalanced is the lack of financial provision. Despite the number of sources that exist for business loans for women, certain requirements must be met in order to make such loans available. The Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund focuses on these issues and offers special low interest loans and services for purposes of entrepreneurship to women in every region.
Such loans can be used for all business requirements such as establishment, working capital, equipment acquisition as well as business expansion projects. In order to compete and enable more women of launching growing or scaling businesses within Canadian economy, this fund administers that assistance, by providing the funds with relaxing credit conditions.
Loans and support services offered by the Canada Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund are delivered through non-profit organizations, which are endorsed by the government, to women entrepreneurs. Among these, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC), National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA), Nventure, Coralus (formerly SheEO), and Evol serve as external implementing organizations. Each delivery organization varies in its mandate and coverage across provinces and territories, which ensures that women entrepreneurs are adequately dealt with in all the provinces and territories served by the fund.
The Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund provides loans of up to $50,000, which is essential for startups, disadvantaged groups in society and businesses owned by one person only. This is because it is more challenging to secure traditional financing for such categories. The core eligibility requirements include but not limited to being a Canadian or Permanent Resident of Canada, physically present in the country, minimal age of 19 years and a major shareholding of more than half of the business which earns not more than 2 Million Dollars in a year. The specific due diligence may differ marginally due to the differences in the delivery channels, but the basis for the endeavor is to assist business women with viable projects who require financial support.
The application process to access the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund requires one to contact any approved delivery partner organization within his or her region for assistance. Such organizations, while adhering to the strict guidelines of the fund, will be able to help in generating a sufficiently comprehensive business plan. One can expect the interest rates charged on loans to be fairly competitive as they are often pegged against the prime rate plus an addition in line with the risks borne by the lender considering the borrower profile. Similarly, the loan shoulder period is often very accommodative given that it stretches for nearly five years and in many instances there’s no payment duran fees.
Apart from the provision of loans, the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund also contains an aspect of supplementary services towards the support of the women owned businesses in the long term. These services can be in different forms such as mentorship, business training, networking and advice from experts. It is understood that funds alone cannot do justice to the cause, and that is why such resources are as well incorporated so that the future women strata of entrepreneurs can also get easy and better access to the resources and grow within the Canadian economy.
In the end, the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund in Canada is an essential element in the construction of a better business environment for everyone. With the provision of necessary business credit and funding, as well as assistance services for the development of women entrepreneurs, this program gives the chance for women to challenge their financial fears and perform their full business potential.
As business loans for women become available through such initiatives, there will be a stronger increase in the rate of innovations, and more roles will be created thereby contributing to the growth of the economy of these tenacious and diligent businesses). Promoting enterprise among women is not won nor lost; it is rather a protective strategy for the future of Canada’s economy.
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