WBE Canada President’s Update November 2018

It hardly seems possible that it’s already the first full week of November – things have definitely not slowed down since our annual conference a mere five weeks ago!

I’m sending you this message from Montreal, QC where I have the privilege of attending Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women International Summit.  Among the luminaries gathered are Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef and Small Business Minister Mary Ng.

The theme of this summit is “Redefining Power: Seizing the $12 Trillion Opportunity”. It’s a telling sign.

We are watching Canadian women business owners stepping up their game and claiming their space in supply chains.  Our WBEs are rocking it and walking from one opportunity to another. The Canadian Government is definitely seeing that equal participation of women in the economy is essential to this country’s economic competitiveness.

This summit is just one of many exciting opportunities we will be joining and sharing our message – loud and clear.  We are grateful for not just our Government partners in this quest, but to our many Corporate partners who are working diligently in their organizations spearheading change and growing champions to support women-owned businesses and who have a commanding voice in this journey. Thank you for all you do to support our WBE Community!

Fall is traditionally full of great networking and training opportunities for our community. This year was no exception.

WBE Canada is committed to supporting supplier diversity.

In September we brought Canadian WBEs to the annual  FCA event in Auburn Hill, MI. FCA put together a fabulous event for diverse suppliers and we were happy to be part of it.

WBE Canada hosted its 9th Annual Conference in September, with 22 of our Corporate Members and 8 other corporations and government organizations represented. For 2 days our diverse suppliers were connecting with the buyers from corporate and government sectors as well as with each other.

Highlights of the event (right after networking with corporations and government), was a closed door Certified WBE session where our WBE community got to discuss challenges, answer questions and build meaningful connections.

In October we re-started our e-learning training to support WBEs across Canada. Every month we will offer business building training sessions full of actionable tips and strategies to support you in your business. Check our EVENTS page regularly for more information.

November started with the annual Connect. Collaborate. Succeed. event and we were glad to welcome, and support Nova Scotia government led trade mission. We look forward to these women-owned businesses leverage their new connections and opportunities.

Hosted by WBE Canada, CAMSC and CGLCC, this event offered opportunities for diverse suppliers to connect with representatives of 15 corporate and government organizations.

What others are saying…

Corporate Corner

A loud “Welcome Back!” to Staples Promotional Products as they re-join  WBE Canada as our newest  Corporate Member. WBEs you can look forward to meeting up with Staples Promotional Products’ team members at upcoming networking events.  And to the Staples team – we know you will benefit greatly from our WBE community and the products and services they are able to offer. We look forward to a great partnership!

We are always excited to hear about your successes. Corporations – keep us posted about outstanding performance and innovative solutions from WBEs. WBEs – let us know about your favourite corporate supporters,  business deals that have closed due to supplier diversity initiatives. We want to recognize the successes and celebrate the achievements. You can share your story here!

Our Partners

At WBE Canada we strongly believe in the power of partnerships and collaboration. Over the past couple months, I’ve been meeting with many existing and potential partners who offer complementary services to our WBE community. Our partners offer support in the regions (WEOC & CWB), Board advisory support (GroYourBiz) and other added services (IWSCC).

I want to personally thank all our Partners for your trust and support and look forward to our future collaboration. We will continue building these strategic partnerships to ensure that you are well supported in your business.  Connect with our Strategic Partners here.

Coming up…

In the upcoming year will be hosting events across the country to ensure that our community is well supported. Here’s what you can look forward to:

• November 14, 2018 – Toyota Opportunity Exchange
• November 28, 2018 – Buy Social Diverse Supplier Networking Event
• February 2019 – Breakfast with Brands, Financial Industry, Toronto, ON (TBC)
• February 27, 2019 – Supplier Diversity Roundtable, Invitation-Only Event for corporate & government buyers, Vancouver, BC
• February 28, 2019 – Breakfast with Brands, Vancouver, BC (Hosted by TELUS)
• March 28, 2019 – Cross-Border Connection, Windsor, ON (TBC)
• April 2019 – Auto Industry Event, Toronto, ON (TBC)
• May 15, 2019 – Supplier Diversity Roundtable, Invitation-Only Event for corporate & government buyers, Halifax, NS
• May 16, 2019 – Breakfast with Brands, Halifax, NS

To stay informed about these and other events, add concierge@wbecanada.ca to your email address book and check our EVENTS page regularly.

Thank you for your continuing support and for being part of the WBE Canada community!

Warmly,