Maïa Inclusive Growth Project to support women entrepreneurs 

Montréal – A more inclusive economy is a stronger economy. That’s why the Government of Canada is dedicated to taking concrete action to support women entrepreneurs from coast to coast to coast, which will help build an economy that works for all Canadians.

Rechie Valdez, Minister of Small Business, announced the launch of the Maïa Inclusive Growth Project along with Ruth Vachon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Réseau des Femmes d’affaires du Québec (RFAQ). This project was made possible by $3.7 million in funding through the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund. It is being delivered by the RFAQ with EY, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada and several other organizations dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs across Canada.

The Maïa project will focus on diversifying the supply chain to help women entrepreneurs across Canada secure contracts with major buyers. To accomplish this, the RFAQ will educate large corporations on the benefits of diversifying their supply chains, and it will train and support women entrepreneurs on how to access these supply chains.

Support for women entrepreneurs will include:

• raising awareness among 5000 women entrepreneurs across Canada about the importance of accessing new markets;
• training and supporting 750 women entrepreneurs, including 200 from diverse backgrounds, to successfully integrate into the supply chains of large corporations; and
• facilitating the certification of women-owned businesses by working with organizations such as the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council and the Inclusive Workplace and Supply Council of Canada.

This initiative is part of the historic investments the government has made since 2015 to support women, including legislating pay equity, enhancing the Canada Child Benefit, providing special funding to support women entrepreneurs during the pandemic, establishing agreements across the country for provinces and territories to provide $10-a-day child care, committing over $530 million for the National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, and introducing national pharmacare legislation that will offer universal access to free contraceptives.