At a press conference with the Minister of Economy and Innovation, Pierre Fitzgibbon, Sévrine Labelle, CEO of Femmessor , announced on June 1 the major transformation that is taking place. The organization's mandate, which aimed to financially support and assist women in starting, growing, taking over or acquiring a business, is now expanding to groups that are underrepresented in entrepreneurship.

Here are Femmessor’s new targeted inclusive clienteles:

women entrepreneurs;

racialized entrepreneurs;

immigrant entrepreneurs;

First Nations or Inuit entrepreneurs;

entrepreneurs living with a disability;

entrepreneurs from the LGBTQ2+ community.

Businesses that wish to take advantage of a loan from Femmessor must be 25% owned by a person who represents one of the groups mentioned above. Projects must also have a positive and measurable impact on the environment and society. Until now, loans were for amounts between $20,000 and $150,000. With the new envelope, loans will be able to go up to $450,000. If all goes as planned, Femmessor should be able to grant its first loans according to these criteria by the end of the summer . To date, the organization has granted $31 million to 1,200 women-owned businesses.

The press conference was followed by a round table discussion hosted by Déborah Chèrenfant, president of the JCCM, on the challenges of inclusive entrepreneurship.

The press conference was held on the sidelines of Femmessor's Web Ensemble entrepreneurial event. Hosted by Isabelle Racicot, it took the form of a talk show during which guests included Danièle Henkel and Mélanie Paul, CEO of Akua Nature . The two businesswomen announced the creation of the Mocassins et talons hauts circle, an incubator and networking project between indigenous and non-indigenous entrepreneurs. They were followed by the duos Suleyka Montpetit and Jean-Martin Fortier, co-founders of Jardinier-maraîcher, as well as Judith Fetzer, president of Cook It and Georges Karam, CEO of Cognibox , who spoke about collaboration and the importance of surrounding yourself well, in particular. The event concluded with a panel on financing needs. Sévrine Labelle, CEO of Femmessor, took the opportunity to reveal that the organization's new name and revamped identity will soon be announced to better reflect its new vocation. To learn more, click here .

Here are the steps to submit a funding request to Femmessor:

1. Validate your eligibility. Submit the necessary documentation to the regional resource responsible for your application. They will validate the eligibility and proceed with the pre-analysis of the funding request.

2. Submit your application. If the application is admissible, the manager will open a file* and analyze it. Additional documents will be required. * File opening fees apply.

3. Present to the committee and receive the decision. Following the favorable analysis of the application, the project will be presented to the investment committee. The manager will make her recommendation and the committee will make its decision.

4. Receive your financing and continue your growth. If the decision is favorable, the signing of your loan contract will be carried out. The prerequisites for disbursement must be met and Femmessor will carry out the legal checks.

To contact the Femmessor team: 1 844 523-7767 or info@femmessorqc.com