Women in Business

Surrey Board of Trade Women in Business Action Plan.

What it’s about:
Funding, growth and leadership for female entrepreneurs
The Surrey Board of Trade believes that women leaders are integral to high performing work teams. We know that by propelling women high-growth entrepreneurs and their ventures one by one, we are leading a transformation of the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a whole.

We know that:

• Women-run companies create new jobs 4 times faster than the national average
• Women create companies at double the national average
• The number of women with incorporated businesses more than doubled in the past decade

Creation of Women in Business Team – under the umbrella of the SBOT’s Business Centre – is a community of experts committed to propelling female entrepreneurship and young women entrepreneurs – not career focused – but building entrepreneurship for today and tomorrow to ensure full participation as entrepreneurs and leaders in high-growth businesses, fueling innovation and driving economic growth.

Advocacy – Events – Projects – Services through the Surrey Board of Trade’s Business Centre

We will actively identify women-led ventures in our Surrey market positioned to be the largest city in British Columbia.

We will be blazing new ground with a differentiated and holistic model that provides inclusive teams and their ventures with services/support they need to propel growth through collaborative partners.

And, in concert with this will be the available opportunity of the SBOT’s Mentorship program for our members. As part of SBOT’s Workplace Development strategy, the program was designed by specialists in HR and Essential Skills and is unique in the opportunities to help build your bridge to a better work experience.

Mentors will be provided with an Essential Skills training workshop (a $250 value) to develop awareness and enhance their own leadership skills – a great benefit for their organization.

Protégés will have the opportunity to work with an experienced mentor to enhance their oral communication, cultural sensitivity when working with others, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.

Also unique are the sponsorship opportunities to raise your brand through the support of skills development. Information can be found on our webpage under Workforce Development & Education side-bar, and click on Business Mentorship.

The applications for both Mentor and Protégé are now open and will be until mid-April. Space is limited so apply today.

So again, the Surrey Board of Trade has positioned itself to reduce the gender gap, actively support female entrepreneurship, and know that we need to work together to improve access to and quality of programming that empowers women with equal opportunity for success, and champions them as the next great leaders in business.

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PeerSpark Program

The PeerSpark Program unites successful female entrepreneurs in their efforts to build confidence, improve their business acumen, and accelerate business success.

The criteria to join is:

• B2B
• In business more than 2 years
• 7-10 employees but a minimum of 2 employees ( including self = so as long as client has one additional employee)
• Revenues over $ 250K and up to $7M
• A strong desire to grow their business

There will be an info session for those interested and want to learn more about the program and what it offers. The cost of the program is $5,000, but they are also looking at the potential use of Canada Jobs Grant that could reimburse applicants 2/3 of the cost.  Small Business BC has been invited to the info session to explain how the Canada Jobs Grant works.

PeerSpark™ Information Lunch
Monday, July 11, 2016
11:30 am to 1:30 pm
The Listel Hotel, 1300 Robson Street, Vancouver, B.C.

Please contact Skillsdevelopment@womensenterprise.ca for an invitation to this event.