Supplier diversity is the business practice of including small and diverse businesses (traditionally underrepresented groups) into an organization’s supply chain.

Membership is open to corporations, governments and nonprofit organizations that have demonstrated interest in supporting women-owned businesses through their supply chains (supplier diversity). Certified WBEs are not classified as members.

Corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations that have a supplier diversity program or are in the process of starting one are eligible to join. They must proactively seek Women Business Enterprise (WBE) suppliers. To learn more click here.

Membership with WBE Canada provides you not only with unlimited access to our database of Canadian certified WBEs to fulfill your contracting needs, but you will also receive the tools and resources designed to help you start a Supplier Diversity Program in your organization thanks to programs like our complimentary Data Scrub, Supplier Diversity Accelerator, Member-Only Forums and Events, B2B Matchmakers and others included in your membership fees. You will also be able to enjoy member-only discounts and specials which provide much greater value than the cost of your membership. To learn more about membership benefits click here.

• Support and promote WBE Canada mission and vision
• Have a supplier diversity or social procurement initiative or a plan to have one in place within 2 years from joining. Entity must be tracking spend with diverse businesses.
• Identify opportunities to increase your organization’s procurement from Women Business Enterprises (WBEs).
• Identify opportunities to increase awareness of the availability of women-owned businesses as suppliers.
• Leverage the WBE Canada Database for its intended use of sourcing goods and services.
• Report on procurement spend with certified Women Business Enterprises (WBEs).
• Participate in and support WBE Canada with networking events and programs when applicable.
• Attend Annual Membership meetings
• Remit membership dues annually

Our Corporate Membership structure and fees are listed here.

Corporate Membership with WBE Canada is more than just access to the WBE Database. In addition to access to verified suppliers, membership fees cover the cost of support for supplier diversity programs, networking events to connect your organization with Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) and support for supplier development. Working with WBE Canada is more cost effective than developing these programs and opportunities yourself.

WBE Canada offers many opportunities for corporate participation. From Board seats, through Committee seats to Sponsorship opportunities, we will be glad to discuss further involvement for your company. Contact our team to get the conversation started.

WBE Canada’s certification process follows WBE Canada Certification Policy. Women-owned businesses apply online through WBE Canada website. Upon completion of application all the documents are reviewed by WBE Canada staff to confirm that the business is minimum 51% owned, managed and controlled by women. A site visit is conducted to confirm the information provided in the application.

The Certification Committee reviews applications on a monthly basis and either requests additional documents or makes the decision to certify or deny certification for the applicant. Each successful applicant is issued a certificate of compliance. Currently about 8% of applications are denied due to non-compliance. WBE Canada has an appeal process in place for unsuccessful applicants who wish to challenge the decision of the Certification Committee. Certification Committee and Appeals Sub-Committee are comprised of Corporate Member representatives.

To ensure that our database is current, certified WBEs undergo annual review to confirm that they continue to meet WBE certification standards. You can rest assured that businesses with a valid WBE Canada certificate are truly women-owned.

As of July 2021 there were 380+ Certified Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) from across Canada in WBE Canada’s database - yes, we are the largest database of Canadian certified diverse businesses. All businesses are verified, with at least 51% ownership, management and control held by woman/women.

• Over $4.2 billion aggregate annual revenues
• Average revenue - $12.6 mil.
• Over 10 thousand employees and 2 thousand subcontractors supported
• Continually top rated performers in corporate & government supply chains, all selling B2B
• Startups and solopreneurs with innovative solutions as well as established companies with revenues in multi-million dollars
• Sample categories represented: IT, AI, Training, Logistics, Manufacturing, Wholesale, Retails, Waste Management, Construction, Maintenance, Legal Services, Marketing, Promotional Products, Staffing and many more.

WBE Canada also manages an email list of 2,900+.