Our History

The Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba (WEC) has helped thousands of women throughout the province find information, improve their skills and acquire financing so that they can start, expand or purchase an existing business.

The staff and board at the Centre understand that in addition to running your own businesses, women are often the primary managers and caregivers of their families. The role of balancing many responsibilities brings with it many unique experiences and challenges.

The Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba was established to address these challenges. Whether you are a novice or seasoned entrepreneur, you can count on the experience and understanding of our team of committed and successful women entrepreneurs and professionals.

These services are provided thanks to the support of Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD), a federal government department committed to helping Western Canadian small and medium-sized businesses grow, diversify and create jobs.

Over the past eight years, Western Economic Diversification Canada has commissioned three studies to show the impact that the Women’s Enterprise Initiative (which includes the Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba, Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs and Women’s Enterprise Centre of BC) has had on women entrepreneurs across the West. In August 2010, a paper presented at the Diana Conference summarized the findings from those three studies.

The findings in Manitoba echo the Alberta information: growing businesses require expansion capital and a more sophisticated and knowledgeable advisory capacity.

Overall, the major impacts of the initiative are: return on public investment of 20:1; incremental return on loan dollars of 30:1; and 75% of loan clients who survive the critical first five years of business. These proven facts attest to the effectiveness of the WEI initiative across the western provinces.

Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is a federal government department that helps small and medium sized businesses grow, diversify and create jobs. WD recognized that women face unique challenges when operating their own business, so in 1994, it helped launch the Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba. Soon after, sister organizations opened in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

The goal of the Women's Enterprise Centre of Manitoba is to provide support from business start-up to sustainability by offering services in three key areas: training, advice and loans for business start-up and growth. This way the Centre can fill the experience and financing gap that faces many women entrepreneurs.

In partnership with a variety of corporate and community partners, WEC has been able to promote entrepreneurship as an option to women throughout Manitoba.