The Government of Saskatchewan has announced new support for women entrepreneurs in the province through two new programs, the Scale-Up for Entrepreneurs program and the Digital Literacy for Entrepreneurs program. These programs will be funded through the Canada-Saskatchewan Labour Market Transfer Agreements.
“Women entrepreneurs are an important contributor to Saskatchewan’s economic growth and key to advancing our Growth Plan goals,” said Laura Ross, the minister responsible for the status of women’s office.
The Scale-Up for Entrepreneurs initiative will provide $450,000 to eligible entrepreneurs (50 women and under-represented Saskatchewan entrepreneurs such as Indigenous, visible minority, youth, and persons experiencing disabilities) to receive training to support skill development in areas such as leadership and management, business strategy, marketing and sales, financial management, human resource strategies, and more.
Eligible entrepreneurs will also have access to coaching and mentorship following the training.
Applications are expected to be accepted in January of 2022
The Digital Literacy for Entrepreneurs will provide $1.6 million to address the digital literacy needs of entrepreneurs, including women entrepreneurs, who want to integrate digital technologies into the future success and growth of their businesses.
Programming will include basic operations, foundational, strategic, and specialized digital skills to ensure appropriate programming for entrepreneurs in their service area.
The program is expected to launch in early 2022 and aims to provide support for over 300 participants.
The Women Entrepreneurs in Saskatchewan report provides data about women-owned businesses in Saskatchewan and female self-employment by sector from 2007-2020.
The report also includes a comparison of how women-owned businesses compare to male-owned businesses in Saskatchewan and Canada for business indicators like employment, revenue and assets. The report can be viewed at
https://publications.saskatchewan.ca:443/api/v1/products/115357/formats/130854/download.
