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Innovative Financingfor

Women Entrepreneurs

Presentation by:Simone Desjardins, Special Advisor to the PresidentBusiness Development Bank of Canada (BDC)May, 2004

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Outline of presentation• Overview of BDC

– Mission and mandate– Services

• Women Entrepreneur Market– Facts

• BDC and Women Entrepreneurs– Historical perspective – BDC financing activity– Access to Venture Capital– Current activities – Going forward – future strategies

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BDC – An Overview

• Mission– BDC’s mission is to help create and develop

Canadian small and medium-sized business through timely and relevant financial and consulting services

• Nationwide network– Over 80 branches and 1,200 employees– One Virtual branch

• $8 billion in assets – over 22,000 clients• Record $2.1 billion in authorizations

fiscal year 2003

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BDC Services

1. Financial Assistance to Support• Start-ups

DevelopmentGrowth / ExpansionMaturity

2. Consulting Support• Quality• Growth• Human Resources

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Facts on Women Entrepreneurs

• Women hold 50% or more ownership of more than one-third of all Canadian SMEs

• Women predominate in service industries and are increasing their presence in other sectors – e.g., manufacturing, construction and primary

sectors

• A larger proportion of women-owned businesses are younger and smaller

• Fewer women-led businesses export compared to men (8% versus 11%)

Industry Canada, SME Financing in Canada, 2002

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What women entrepreneurs want

• Recent research provides some insights of what women entrepreneurs want – A long-term relationship with their banker– Value-added opportunities to network for

information, resources and potential clients– Support in understanding and discovering

growth opportunities – To grow their business beyond Canada’s border– To be treated equally and not differently than

men

Generations Research Inc., Exploratory Research into Opportunities within the

Women’s Market, 2001

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BDC and women entrepreneurs -

an historical perspective• BDC has been a pioneer in developing initiatives to support women entrepreneurs for over a decade

• Developed expertise through focus groups, surveys, in-depth research, training and mentoring programs– In 1990, the Bank pioneered the first comprehensive profile

of women-owned businesses

• In 1992, spearheaded training and mentoring programs specifically designed to encourage women to start and grow businesses [the successful Step-Up, Step-In programs]

• BDC has evolved with the market and is now focussing on growth & export by promoting and supporting global summits and conferences

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Total Lending Committed to Women-Owned* Businesses(in millions of $)

$1,500

$3,000

$4,500

$6,000

$7,500

Total Bank

$0

$500

$1,000

$1,500

Women

Total Bank $3,259 $3,572 $3,965 $4,461 $4,933 $5,446 $6,057 $6,827 $7,596

Women $428 $525 $629 $741 $812 $923 $1,045 $1,175 $1,329

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

BDC and women entrepreneurs

*Defined as more than 50% female ownership

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Current Initiatives• Internal Committees in Branches – these committees

champion business issues, are involved in local women’s organizations and participate in women oriented events

• Discussion Workshops – Workshops and networking events on financial, export and growth planning are organized across the country.

• Growth & Export Forums – BDC sponsored the launch of the first Canadian Chapter of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) in May 2001. Since then, a second chapter was established in the fall of 2002. WPO members meet monthly to discuss a variety of business growth issues and participate in international conferences to develop export opportunities and business alliances abroad

• Designated Web Section – Launch of a Web section providing value-added information on business management and promoting successful women entrepreneurs as role models

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Access to Venture Capital• Opportunity for women

entrepreneurs– Stimulate a VC awareness– Facilitate investment forums for women

entrepreneurs– Access to appropriate financing

mechanisms• 6% of BDC’s investment companies are lead 6% of BDC’s investment companies are lead

by women (Presidents & CEOs)by women (Presidents & CEOs)• Women hold more than one-third (35%) of the Women hold more than one-third (35%) of the

management team positions management team positions• Particularly relevant in life sciences sectorParticularly relevant in life sciences sector

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$25 Million Fund

• In October 2003, BDC launched a new $25 million fund targeted to women entrepreneurs

• Target well-managed, established, fast growing businesses

• This fund will serve to leverage additional private equity

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Going forward . . . • BDC’s other future strategies

for women entrepreneurs– Continue to support start-ups with

new service offering and as part of the Bank’s overall strategy

– Organize additional “Learning and Networking Forums” on growth, export and access to VC

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BDC.ca