Transcript Document

Innovative Financing
for
Women Entrepreneurs
Presentation by:
Simone Desjardins, Special Advisor to the President
Business 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
Development
Growth / Expansion
Maturity
2. Consulting Support
•
•
•
Quality
Growth
Human Resources
4
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, indepth 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
7
BDC and women entrepreneurs
Total Lending Committed to Women-Owned* Businesses
(in millions of $)
Total Bank
Women
$1,500
$7,500
$1,000
$6,000
$4,500
$500
$3,000
$1,500
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
$0
Total Bank $3,259 $3,572 $3,965 $4,461 $4,933 $5,446 $6,057 $6,827 $7,596
Women
$428
$525
$629
*Defined as more than 50% female ownership
$741
$812
$923
$1,045 $1,175 $1,329
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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 by
women (Presidents & CEOs)
Women hold more than one-third (35%) of the
management team positions
Particularly 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
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