The last two years have been a marathon of challenges for small businesses on the Island. On top of the everyday stress from COVID-19, women have had the added workload of being full-time mothers and part-time teachers while running business ventures. But it’s brighter days ahead! The pandemic restrictions are slowly lifting and we’re all eager to return to an almost normal life again.
According to Statistics Canada’s report Impact of COVID-19 on businesses majority-owned by various sub-population groups and visible minorities, third quarter of 2021. *
in Canada. The research shows clearly that COVID-19 has amplified structural barriers, has affected woman entrepreneurs more than men and has affected Indigenous, racialized and other diverse entrepreneurs most of all. • Women are majority owners of about 15.6 per cent of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with one or more employee—about 114,000 companies (2017). But women account for over 37 per cent of self-employed Canadians or 1,050,000 (2019). • Woman entrepreneurs are more likely to be in the service, social, health and beauty, and food sectors than in manufacturing and technology. • Women are less likely to seek and receive financing than men (32.6 per cent vs. 38 per cent) and firms owned by men are more likely to receive venture capital or angel funding and other forms of leverage such as trade credit or capital leasing. • SMEs with under 20 employees have been the hardest hit during the pandemic and women are more likely to own newer and smaller businesses, making them the most affected. • During the pandemic, the percentage of woman-owned businesses that laid off staff, 40.6 per cent, is about equal to the percentage of male-owned businesses overall (40.5 per cent). However, the percentage of woman- owned businesses that have laid off 80 percent or more of their employees is substantially greater than that of businesses overall (62.1 per cent vs. 45.2 per cent). The following pages are dedicated to some of the inspiring women in PEI who have taken up the challenge of business ownership; we encourage you to support their ventures.
76.7 % Over three-quarters of businesses majority-owned by women indicated that they have an optimistic future outlook over the next 12 months.
From the onset of the pandemic, women business owners have
exhibited amazing tenacity, driven to adapt and pivot regardless of the many challenges. Woman entrepreneurs on the Island have banded together, supporting each other; they have empowered and supported woman-owned businesses from all backgrounds and walks of life, helping each other to grow, thrive and succeed. Over the last two years, the local business community has not only experienced challenges due to the pandemic; in addition, the first quarter of 2022 was plagued with a snowstorm almost every weekend. How did some local businesses innovate? Many have increased their online presence and offered delivery for many of their products. Local coffee shops, breweries and restaurants are used curb-side deliveries and created online ordering systems. Many of these innovations are still in effect, and local businesses have seen a rise in support from Islanders. According to the study The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2020*, the first annual report from the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (WEKH) synthesizes government, academic, and expert research to highlight some of the structural barriers facing diverse women entrepreneurs
32.6 % Women are less likely to seek and receive financing than men (32.6 % vs. 38 %) and firms owned by men are more likely to receive venture capital or angel funding and other forms of leverage such as trade credit or capital leasing.
37.0 % Women account for 37 per cent of self-employed Canadians or 1,050,000 (2019).
* https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45- 28-0001/2021001/article/00036-eng.htm
*https://wekh.ca/research/the-state-of-womens-entrepreneurship-in-canada/
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