Corporate Membership FAQ
Click on question(s) below to reveal answer.
1. What is Supplier Diversity?
2. Who are WBE Canada’s Corporate Members?
3. Who is eligible to join WBE Canada as a Corporate Member?
4. What is the Value of WBE Canada’s Corporate Membership?
5. What is the Commitment as a Corporate Member?
- 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
6. What is the cost to join WBE Canada as a Corporate Member?
7. Why do we have to pay for Corporate Membership to access WBE Database?
8. How can my company/organization participate?
9. What is the certification process and how do I know it is reliable?
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 the 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.
10. What is the Profile of Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) in Your Database?
As of December 2019 there were 280+ Certified Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) from across Canada in WBE Canada’s database (15% growth YOY). All businesses are verified, with at least 51% ownership, management and control held by woman/women.
- Over $1 billion combined annual revenues
- Over 10 thousand employees and 2 thousand subcontractors supported
- Continually top rated performers in corporate & government supply chains
- 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 2,500+ contacts.