Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) program

Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) program is sponsored by Global Affairs Canada (Trade Commissioner Service). The Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) program supports Canadian women entrepreneurs in accessing global markets.

--> Evaluation of the Business Women in International Trade Initiative, 2018-19 to 2021-22 Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.

This Web page has been archived on the Web Evaluation of the Business Women in International Trade Initiative, 2018-19 to 2021-22 Prepared by the Evaluation Division (PRA) Acronyms and abbreviations Evaluation scope and methodology Recommendations and considerations Acronyms and abbreviations 2SLGBTQI+ Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additionally sexually and gender diverse people BDC Business Development Bank of Canada BPE Inclusive Trade, FTA Promotion and Trade Missions Division BWIT Business Women in International Trade CRM Client relationship management EDC Export Development Canada FTA Free trade agreement FTE Full-time equivalent GAC Global Affairs Canada HQ Headquarters ISED Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada KPI Key performance indicator OGD Other government department ROs Regional offices SMEs Small and medium-sized enterprises TCS Trade Commissioner Service TPF Trade Program Fund WES Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Executive summary This evaluation examined Global Affairs Canada’s Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) initiative for the period from fiscal year (FY) 2018-19 to FY 2021-22.

The objectives of the evaluation were to highlight areas of strength and gaps in BWIT’s objectives, resources and delivery of services, and identify ways in which the BWIT initiative can maximize its results and support to businesses and partners. This report presents the evaluation findings, conclusions, recommendations and considerations for future delivery of the BWIT initiative.

This evaluation confirmed the continued relevance of the BWIT initiative , based on the needs of its target clients, the initiative’s alignment with the Government of Canada’s Export Diversification Strategy and inclusive approach to trade, and BWIT’s niche within the broader ecosystem of government support to women entrepreneurs.

The initiative’s performance improved following the 2018 decentralization of its service delivery model into three distinct components, namely the headquarters (HQ) support role, the diversity champion role in regional offices and the BWIT Trade Program Fund.

The Inclusive Trade Promotion team at HQ contributed to a more comprehensive approach to supporting women entrepreneurs by providing policy guidance within Global Affairs Canada and increasing the reach and awareness of Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) support for women entrepreneurs through engagement with women’s business support organizations.

The creation of the client-facing diversity champion role in regional offices fostered TCS engagement with a wider subset of women and underrepresented entrepreneurs across Canada, although diversity champions were not adequately supported with sufficient strategic direction or focused training.

This evaluation found that the BWIT Trade Program Fund was fundamental in enabling missions to organize initiatives promoting inclusive international trade by supporting BWIT clients in accessing diverse markets.

While the initiative demonstrated improved performance, BWIT services across its three components were not designed to systematically align with the sectors in which women entrepreneurs were mostly concentrated, limiting the extent to which services could be targeted to these groups.

In addition, limitations in the collection, maintenance and extraction of disaggregated data impacted the performance measurement and implementation of the BWIT initiative. Finally, the BWIT initiative consistently underspent allocated funds due to challenges faced specifically within the evaluation period, such as COVID-19 and the non-permanent nature of BWIT-funded positions.

Summary of recommendations Formalize guidance and enhance support to regional offices on the diversity champion role and responsibilities in addressing the distinct needs of women entrepreneurs. Prioritize the selection of BWIT-Trade Program Fund initiatives that align with the sectors in which women entrepreneurs are most concentrated. Text version 16.

8% of Canadian SMEs were majority women-owned in 2020 10. 4% of Canada’s majority women-owned SMEs are likely to export (approx. 13,800 SMEs) 12.

5% of Canada’s majority women-owned SMEs are likely to export (approx. 67,600 SMEs) Source: Estimates based on data from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s Survey on Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises, 2020 Women entrepreneurship in Canada In 2020, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada represented 99. 8% of all employer businesses and hired 88.

3% of all private sector employees. However, only 16. 8% of Canadian SMEs were majority owned by women, compared to 68.

9% owned by men and 14. 3% owned equally by men and women. Furthermore, there remains a gender gap in the rates of exporting , with 10.

4% of women majority-owned SMEs exporting compared to 12. 5% for those majority owned by men in 2020. Women-owned businesses face complex challenges hindering their growth.

These include limited access to innovative financing, customized or gender-sensitive counselling and mentorship, and digital and financial capacity building, as well as procedural and regulatory obstacles, and socio-cultural expectations. Narrowing the gender gap in the Canadian economy could boost Canada’s annual gross domestic product by an estimated $150 billion by 2026.

Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) was launched in 2018 and represents a whole-of-government approach to increasing women-owned businesses’ access to the financing, talent, networks and expertise they need to start-up, scale-up and access new markets.

Coordinated by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the WES represents nearly $7 billion in investments and commitments from almost 20 different federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations.

Amongst others, selected WES program partners include the Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, Farm Credit Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Women and Gender Equality Canada, and Global Affairs Canada. Through Budget 2021, the Government of Canada announced investments of $146. 9 million over four years to further strengthen the WES.

Global Affairs Canada’s support to women exporters Global Affairs Canada has prioritized increasing the economic engagement of underrepresented groups based on the Government of Canada’s Export Diversification Strategy , which was established in 2018 to secure more opportunities for Canadian exporters and investors in global markets.

This has included an inclusive approach to trade that seeks to ensure that the benefits of trade are more widely shared, including with women, SMEs, and Indigenous peoples. Related Trade Commissioner Service programs have included CanExport and the Canadian Technology Accelerator.

CanExport offers grants and contributions to Canadian companies to help them prepare for and establish a presence in international markets, including business delegations and supplier diversity certification support for underrepresented groups. The Canadian Technology Accelerator program supports high-growth, high-potential tech companies and has implemented initiatives to promote greater participation of women entrepreneurs.

Key components of the BWIT initiative following the delivery model shift: HQ support to promote the enhancement of Trade Commissioner Service programming and data analysis for women exporters, and engage widely to support women entrepreneurs and develop partnerships. Diversity champion roles across the Trade Commissioner Service’s six regional offices dedicated to providing BWIT services.

A BWIT Trade Program Fund established to allow trade commissioners at regional offices in Canada and missions abroad to organize initiatives for women exporters. Business Women in International Trade program (1997 to 2018) The Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) program was established in 1997 as a dedicated unit of the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) to support Canadian women entrepreneurs.

The program coordinated activities for women exporters, such as providing advice and guidance on navigating the TCS, distributing relevant publications and coordinating business delegations to supplier diversity events abroad. The program’s HQ-based model was client facing and exclusively focused on business women.

Business Women in International Trade initiative (2018 to present) In 2018, Global Affairs Canada received $10 million over five years under the 2018 federal budget to expand BWIT as part of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy coordinated by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

With this funding, BWIT shifted from an HQ-based model toward an initiative more directly integrated in the Trade Commissioner Service , relying on trade commissioners in regional offices to provide support to women exporters and better leverage the wide reach of the TCS network and regional presence.

BWIT-funded full-time equivalents consisted of two positions at headquarters reporting to management of the Inclusive Trade, FTA Promotion and Trade Missions Division (BPE) and six diversity champion positions in regional offices reporting to their respective senior trade commissioner. Text version BWIT organigramme outlining the mix of positions at headquarters and regional offices.

Evaluation scope and methodology Evaluation scope and objectives The evaluation covers the period FY 2018-19 to 2021-22 and includes all BWIT initiative operations and activities delivered by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) at headquarters in Ottawa and in the Trade Commissioner Services’ six regional offices . It is GAC’s first evaluation of the BWIT initiative.

It also covers the initiative’s three components: the HQ support role, the BWIT Trade Program Fund and the BWIT diversity champions role. Highlight areas of strength and gaps in BWIT’s objectives, resources and delivery of services. Identify ways in which the BWIT initiative can maximize its results and support to businesses and partners.

Provide neutral evidence to inform the renewal application process for the BWIT initiative. * *Funding for the BWIT initiative expired on March 31, 2023. At the time of writing this report, BPE obtained bridge funding to support the initiative for an additional six months while seeking permanent funding beyond this date.

Utilization focus. As a utilization-focused evaluation, this evaluation was planned and conducted to enhance the likely utilization of both the findings and the process itself to inform decision making and improve the BWIT initiative’s performance .

As such, at BPE’s request, the evaluation team conducted initial research and shared preliminary findings early in the evaluation process in June 2022, to inform the BWIT funding renewal process. The evaluation team also collaborated with GAC’s Knowledge Translation Unit to develop an evaluation learning and influence plan to respond to the information needs of both internal and external stakeholders where possible.

Feminist approach. The evaluation incorporated feminist evaluation principles to better meet the needs of relevant stakeholders and ensure that the voices of underrepresented groups are prioritized and incorporated. This included the development and application of an implementation plan for applying feminist evaluation principles and elements throughout the different phases of the evaluation.

The evaluation team also engaged directly with women and underrepresented entrepreneurs at trade events and strived to obtain and incorporate disaggregated data for different underrepresented groups (see Annex 3 for details on the feminist evaluation approach). Innovative data collection.

To adapt data collection to the time constraints of women and other underrepresented entrepreneurs, the evaluation team developed short “rapid interview” questionnaires consisting of a limited number of questions to conduct 5- to 10-minute rapid interviews with these entrepreneurs at in-person events.

This approach allowed for rapid data collection in a fast-paced environment (e.g. trade shows) and coverage of multiple stakeholders and interviews in a limited amount of time. These rapid interviews were successfully piloted at two trade-related events, in Orlando and Toronto. Q1.

To what extent is there an ongoing need for the Business Women in International Trade (BWIT) initiative? 1. 1 What are the trade-related needs and barriers for women and underrepresented groups?

1. 2 To what extent does the BWIT Initiative align with Government of Canada or Global Affairs Canada priorities on gender, diversity and inclusion? 1.

3 How does the BWIT initiative complement or overlap with other Government of Canada or Global Affairs Canada initiatives? Q2. To what extent has the delivery of the BWIT initiative been efficient?

2. 1 To what extent is there alignment between BWIT’s operational needs/objectives and its funding profile? 2.

2 What are the alternative delivery options (if any) that could be applied to the BWIT initiative that promote equality, diversity and inclusion? Q3. To what extent has the BWIT initiative achieved its intended results?

3. 1 To what extent has the change in BWIT’s delivery model had an impact on the results of the initiative? 3.

2 What have been the key enabling or limiting factors for the effective implementation of the BWIT initiative? 3. 3 What have been the key results of the BWIT initiative (e.g. trade champion service delivery, women-focused trade missions, client access to key international markets)?

The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach, where data was collected from a range of sources to ensure multiple lines of evidence when analyzing data and formulating findings. Each finding was triangulated using evidence from a mix of quantitative and qualitative data.

Eight main methods were used for the evaluation: Review of internal GAC documents on policies, systems and processes, planning and strategy documents, as well as guidance, reports, briefing notes, templates, tools, etc. 37 BWIT-specific documents Review of external literature, documents and statistics on women and other underrepresented entrepreneurs, including barriers to international trade, and domestic trends for women exporters: 85 external reports and publications reviewed Domestic environmental scan A scan of the ecosystem of Government of Canada initiatives or programs supporting women and underrepresented entrepreneurs.

The scan covered: 12 other government departments, agencies and crown corporations 7 regional development agencies 3 national or regional business associations International environmental scan A scan of best practices from relevant initiatives in four countries: Chile, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States: 7 interviews with stakeholders 6 consultations with Canadian mission staff and other stakeholders 87 program and policy documents and websites reviewed Financial and reporting data review Review of available data related to BWIT, including: TCS Trade Program Funds data chief financial officer financial data 83 semi-structured individual or small group interviews (and written responses) with: 46 GAC staff (HQ, regional offices, missions, other initiatives) 12 OGDs, agency, crown corporation or regional development agency staff 13 women entrepreneurs (TCS clients and non-clients) 12 business support organizations and certifying body staff Trade-related event data collection The evaluation team attended and collected data at two virtual and two in-person trade-related events, during which the team conducted: 42 rapid interviews with women entrepreneurs (TCS clients and non-clients) 37 event session observations Conducted case studies on three key BWIT components: the BWIT Diversity Champion roles across the TCS’s six regional offices the BWIT Trade Program Fund Evaluation limitations and mitigation measures Limitations Mitigation measures Performance and reporting data quality and disaggregation As an initiative integrated into the Trade Commissioner Service, BWIT relied on the TRIO system for reporting activities, which was not designed to capture data on all underrepresented groups nor to easily identify BWIT-specific activities.

There was also no process in place to ensure underrepresented groups were accurately tagged and intersectional data captured. The BWIT-Trade Program Fund financial and initiatives data was subject to data quality limitations.

Triangulation of data sources and use of best available data The evaluation team drew from TRIO data to the extent possible, but also relied on other data sources to address gaps and limitations and provide more context. This included Trade Commissioner Service client survey results, a mini survey of diversity champions, case studies, interviews and document review. The evaluation team reviewed the most robust financial data available.

Limited access to stakeholders The evaluation team had limited access to underrepresented entrepreneurs and other stakeholders such as mission staff and other government departments, who were geographically dispersed and whose availability was often constrained by competing priorities and multiple engagements or other commitments.

Use of appropriate data collection methods The evaluation team adapted its data collection to reduce the time burden on stakeholders. This included traveling to events attended by underrepresented entrepreneurs, and using rapid interview questionnaires to collect data in a way that was less time intensive. The option of providing written responses was also provided.

Timing of the BWIT initiative evaluation The renewal application process for the BWIT initiative took place before the BWIT evaluation could be completed, which limited GAC’s ability to fully utilize the evaluation findings and evidence to inform the renewal application.

Development of a preliminary findings paper in June 2022 The evaluation team conducted initial research and developed a preliminary findings paper early in the evaluation process (June 2022) to provide neutral evidence that was used to inform BWIT’s funding renewal process.

Trade-related needs and barriers Key barriers for women entrepreneurs in Canada Text version Key barriers for women entrepreneurs in Canada: Access to financing / Capital Systemic biases / Social perception Lack of information / Knowledge Time / Resource constraints Access to training / Mentorship Access to international markets Limited development of business skills / Competencies Source: Multiple sources (see Annex 5) There is a continued and ongoing need for specialized support for women entrepreneurs and other underrepresented groups to support their access to international trade.

Of the Canadian majority women-owned businesses in 2020, 96% were SMEs, which are the target client base of the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS). Despite women-owned SMEs exporting proportionally less than men-owned SMEs (as previously noted), on average, they achieve a relatively higher financial return when they adopt an intensive export strategy.

This positions the TCS, and particularly BWIT, to address the needs of women entrepreneurs, who are more likely to own newer and smaller businesses and less likely to export than men-owned businesses. Canadian women entrepreneurs face persistent barriers when engaging in international trade, indicating a continued and ongoing need for the BWIT initiative.

While some barriers to export for Canadian SMEs cut across all categories of gender ownership, they tend to be accentuated for women. Women also face barriers that require specific types of support.

According to research from GAC’s Office of the Chief Economist, logistical obstacles were perceived as being the most prohibitive barrier to export across genders, with domestic administrative obstacles being the next most important barrier for both women and men.

Foreign administrative obstacles, border issues and market knowledge ranked as the next most important obstacles specifically for women-owned businesses in entering export markets. These are all barriers for which the TCS could play a role by providing information to women entrepreneurs.

Other barriers identified by women entrepreneurs included limited trade-related knowledge and capacity, limited access to networks, and societal perceptions of women.

Though BWIT’s mandate focused on serving women entrepreneurs, it was inclusive enough to take into account the intersectional identities of women identifying with other underrepresented groups in trade, which increased the initiative’s relevance given the diverse challenges faced by these groups.

For Indigenous entrepreneurs, challenges include a lack of reliable access to infrastructure and broadband, the high cost of living and doing business in the North and systemic and institutional constraints, as well as racism.

For Black and other racialized entrepreneurs, challenges include weaker networks, access to capital and less history of loans and assets, lack of access to mentoring, information and business skills development support, as well as systemic discrimination and racism. For 2SLGBTQI+ entrepreneurs, main challenges are the stigma of self-identification and systemic discrimination based on gender, gender identity and sexual orientation.

For youth entrepreneurs, challenges include lack of access to financing (e.g. limited credit history and collateral), age discrimination, lack of awareness of self-employment options and limited confidence and mentorship. This indicates the need for an initiative such as BWIT that allows for addressing the intersectional barriers of women entrepreneurs from one or a combination of underrepresented groups.

Government of Canada’s Export Diversification Strategy Government of Canada’s inclusive approach to trade GAC’s Trade Commissioner Service Business Women in International Trade The BWIT initiative was aligned with the Government of Canada's Export Diversification Strategy and inclusive approach to trade.

BWIT’s mandate was aligned with the Government of Canada's Export Diversification Strategy and inclusive approach to trade, as it supported underrepresented entrepreneurs with the resources needed to successfully access global markets.

As a partner program of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), BWIT collaborated with other government departments (OGDs) to deliver sustainable and coordinated programs to support women entrepreneurs and address the barriers they faced and worked with organizations in the broader national ecosystem of support for gender equality via economic empowerment.

BWIT received funding as part of the WES and engaged with OGDs to align Government of Canada efforts to achieve full and equal participation of women in the economy. Represented by its Chief Trade Commissioner, Global Affairs Canada was also a core member of the WES Assistant Deputy Minister Interdepartmental Steering Committee created in 2018.

The committee has met on a quarterly basis to ensure a coordinated, whole-of-government approach to implementation of the WES, and alignment with other Government of Canada initiatives relating to women and women entrepreneurs.

By supporting women entrepreneurs and equity-seeking groups to pursue business opportunities abroad and to access international markets, BWIT helped diversify Canada’s trade activities abroad and consequently reinforced its alignment with the Export Diversification Strategy and inclusive approach to trade. Therefore, the BWIT initiative was well positioned to further the advancement of inclusive international trade.

Annex 4 outlines relevant initiatives to advance inclusive international trade from a sample of peer countries. What is the Government of Canada’s inclusive approach to trade? As part of its Export Diversification Strategy, the Government of Canada is pursuing an inclusive approach to trade that seeks to ensure that more Canadians have access to the benefits and opportunities that flow from international trade and investment.

This includes those Canadians who have traditionally been underrepresented in international trade and investment, including women, SMEs, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities, youth and 2SLGBTQI+. This means seeking trade policies that are sustainable, responsible, transparent and inclusive.

Canada is committed to pursuing an inclusive approach to trade in recognition that trade policies and agreements need to respond and contribute more meaningfully to broader economic, social and environmental policy priorities. Source: Global Affairs Canada. “Canada’s inclusive approach to trade.

” Accessed from international. gc.

ca Government of Canada complementarity Complementary OGDs sampled for the evaluation Text version Complementary OGDs to Global Affairs Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service sampled for the evaluation: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada Business Development Bank of Canada Export Development Canada Canadian Commercial Cooperation Public Services and Procurement Canada National Research Council Canada Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Indigenous Services Canada Women and Gender Equality Canada Regional Development Agencies BWIT's complementarity with other government departments and other Global Affairs Canada trade programs allowed it to fill a programming gap with relevant and targeted support for women entrepreneurs.

The BWIT initiative was largely complementary to other Global Affairs Canada (GAC) trade programs and other government departments (OGDs) programs supporting entrepreneurs, including women, both domestically and internationally. It provided differentiated services to a dedicated audience, thereby filling a gap in programming.

BWIT's distinct focus on facilitating the entry and access to international markets for export-ready women entrepreneurs differed from services provided by OGDs (including those who were part of the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy coordinated by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) focused on supporting domestic trade, supply chains or export readiness.

By leveraging regional office and mission networks and focusing on business connections and foreign market networking opportunities, BWIT was complementary to Export Development Canada (EDC), which focused on providing digital trade knowledge, financial solutions, equity and insurance to entrepreneurs including (but not exclusively focused on) women.

BPE also engaged in joint presentations with EDC and the Business Development Bank of Canada at business events on their specific roles in supporting entrepreneurs. BWIT’s mandate also complemented Canada’s seven regional development agencies which were focused on creating regional economic assets and export-readiness (though not international trade per se); BWIT interaction with them, however, was limited.

As the only sector-agnostic and national-level Trade Commissioner Service initiative providing targeted services to women-owned businesses in international trade , BWIT complemented other TCS programs like the Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) (focused on technology companies), the CanExport SMEs program (focused on financing international market access for SMEs) and the Canadian International Innovation Program (focused on R & D support).

While TCS programs like the CTA and CanExport SMEs included some components to support women entrepreneurs, only BWIT services were focused on this target group. BWIT was more complementary and collaborated more closely with the CTA and CanExport SMEs programs, including by sharing clients and BPE providing advice on various issues to improve their programming.

For instance, through consultations, BPE advised CanExport SMEs program to include supplier diversity certification costs in its eligible expenses, which was implemented and noted as a positive change by several stakeholders. Other examples of collaboration with CanExport SMEs program included fast-tracking application for women and underrepresented entrepreneurs and lowering the threshold for these groups to receive funding.

Highlights of BWIT’s improved performance over the evaluation period Women-owned TCS business clients increased by 333%. Commercial successes of women-owned TCS business clients increased by 248%. Number of annual BWIT business delegations increased by 138%.

Services delivered to women-owned TCS business clients increased by 55%. Number of markets reached increased by 33%. Source: Global Affairs Canada.

Results data. 2022 The decentralization of BWIT’s service delivery from HQ to regional offices improved the initiative’s performance.

BWIT’s decentralized delivery model enabled teams at both HQ and regional offices to focus on their comparative strengths, with the HQ-based Inclusive Trade Promotion Division undertaking a policy role at the national level and diversity champions (which are trade commissioners in the regional offices providing dedicated services to inclusive trade groups) focused on client-facing responsibilities at the regional level.

After decentralization, the number of women-owned TCS business clients increased from 372 in FY 2018-19 to 1610 in FY 2021-22 (a 333% increase). The number of BWIT business delegations conducted annually consistently surpassed the target of 4 to 6, ranging from 8 business delegations in FY 2018-19 to 19 in FY 2021-22 (a 138% increase).

The number of markets reached through the business delegations increased from 12 markets in FY 2018-19 to 16 markets in FY 2021-22 (a 33% increase). Services delivered to women-owned business clients by the TCS increased from 2255 in FY 2018-19 to 3491 in FY 2021-22 (a 55% increase), surpassing the target, 2110, by 65%.

Commercial successes of women-owned business clients rose from 40 in FY 2018-19 to 139 in FY 2021-22, surpassing the target for FY 2021-22 by 248%.

While most key performance indicators (KPIs) improved over the evaluation period, between fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 there was a drop in the number of TCS services delivered to women-owned business clients, the number of commercial opportunities pursued by Canadian women-owned business clients with the assistance of the TCS, and the number of concluded commercial agreements facilitated by the TCS with a woman-owned Canadian business client.

This is likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was the most cited cause of project cancellation in those years. However, these numbers increased and met targets by FY 2021-22. Spotlight: Go for the Greens 2022 Members of the Canadian delegation at Go for the Greens 2022.

Photo: Trade Commissioner Service digital communications One of BWIT’s flagship initiatives was providing support to Go for the Greens, an annual multi-sector women in business conference in Orlando, Florida. In 2022, a delegation of 34 Canadians attended the event to network with large corporations offering supplier diversity programs and other SMEs.

Of the Canadian women entrepreneurs surveyed after the event, 85% stated that the conference either met or exceeded their expectations, while 92% noted that the Canadian government employees (BPE staff and Trade Commissioners at mission) involved in organizing the event were “approachable, helpful and easily accessible.

” Delivery model shift – HQ As part of the BWIT initiative, event agreements were organized with the following women’s business support organizations*: Text version As part of the BWIT initiative, event agreements were organized with the following women’s business support organizations: WeConnect International Canada Women’s Enterprise Centre Manitoba Alberta Women’s Entrepreneurs Women’s Enterprise Centre BC Réseau des Femmes du Québec Centre for Women in Business NS New Brunswick Association of CBDCs Organization of Women in International Trade Women’s Enterprise Organization of Canada Newfoundland & Labrador Organization of Women Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Alberta Women’s Enterprise Women’s Business Enterprise National Council PEI Business Women’s Association Wellness Group & Powerful Women *The size of the organization names corresponds with the value of the event agreement(s) coordinated with that organization over the evaluation period.

The values ranged from $1,500 to $49,000. BPE’s inclusive trade promotion within Global Affairs Canada had a tangible impact on policy and programming targeting women entrepreneurs. BPE provided policy guidance on inclusive trade within Global Affairs Canada by developing briefing material as needed for senior officials for events, budget requests and proposals related to supporting women entrepreneurs.

BPE frequently shared information with the Trade Agreements Secretariat Division (TCT) to encourage inclusive trade promotion, including through consultations with TCT on inclusive trade chapters. BPE also engaged with the Foreign Policy Planning Division, including through consultations to ensure that inclusive trade was integrated into Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy papers.

BPE’s policy support function also influenced changes made to CanExport Programs Division’s (BSC’s) SMEs sub-program in a way that improved the accessibility of BWIT business delegations for underrepresented groups.

Changes included the exceptional acceptance of funding applications of less than the standard requirement ($20,000), fast-tracking applications for women applying for business delegations initiated by BPE and including supplier diversity certification as an eligible cost.

A tangible impact of BPE’s policy support was the use of CanExport SMEs funding by approximately one third of surveyed women entrepreneurs who attended the BWIT-supported Go for the Greens event in 2022. BPE increased the reach and awareness of Trade Commissioner Service support for women entrepreneurs by engaging with women’s business support organizations.

BPE engaged with women’s business support organizations and participated in their events (e.g. through presentations and trade booths) to promote TCS services for women entrepreneurs pursuing international trade. As part of the BWIT initiative, $349,000 was spent on event agreements with these organizations.

The cumulative membership of all Canadian women’s business support organizations with event agreements organized through the BWIT initiative exceeded 55,000, which demonstrated the capacity for such engagement to increase the reach and awareness of TCS services to women entrepreneurs.

Of the women entrepreneur interviewees who had heard about BWIT prior to engaging in business delegations, 58% heard about it through women’s business support organizations, which exemplified the added value of BPE’s engagement with these organizations for raising awareness of TCS support.

While some of the organizations noted that BPE’s communication regarding BWIT’s delivery model shift was limited, engagement over the evaluation period was