WBE Canada, a non-profit organization modeled on the Women’s Business National Enterprise Council (WBENC) of the USA and WEConnect in the UK, offers the women business owners of Canada the first ever opportunity to be qualified as “majority women owned businesses”. This is the qualification or certification required by the Fortune 500 companies when a woman owned business wants to enter the Fortune 500 supply chains through their supplier diversity programs.Without qualification, Canadian women owned businesses have not been able to take advantage of this multi-billion dollar opportunity otherwise available just across the border.
WBE Canada is a non-profit organization which delivers the leading international qualification standard for women’s business enterprises (WBEs). WBE Canada delivers the education, training, coaching and mentoring programs essential for Canadian WBEs to grow their businesses significantly through successful bidding for corporate and government supply chains. WBE develops and promotes networks between and amongst WBEs and the large corporations and WBE government partners to enhance WBEs access to services and to concrete procurement opportunities.
Impact Communications Ltd. was honoured in 2010 to receive the Ambassador Award for WBE Canada and has been responsible for the development and execution of the ‘MENTORING Program” for certified women business enterprises.
The WBE Mentoring program will further assist in accelerating Canadian business women’s qualifications-positioning them to qualify for supplier diversity programs not only in Canada, but in the USA and in other countries where WBE International is creating qualification or certification bodies including India and China.
The goals of the Mentoring Program include:
- Facilitate the opening of doors of Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) to corporate and government markets, by being a role model who can guide, encourage and provide advice, and share success to mentees that have completed the coaching component.
- Encourage discussion of specific problems and strategies involved in understanding how to market to and deliver to large corporate buyers and government.
- Assist women business owners to profitably grow and expand their businesses.
- Provide training materials that encourage an atmosphere of additional support and guidance to WBE qualified women business owners in implementing their marketing plan to pursue supplier diversity markets.
For further information on how to become a certified women business in Canada, please visit wbecanada.org.