By Mahmuda Sheikh
Alberta Women Entrepreneurs
Devonne Kendrick, the marketing coordinator at Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) works to make resources and networks available and accessible to female entrepreneurs to promote their success.
“There is a lot of momentum right now around women’s entrepreneurship. Alberta, in particular, has the highest rate of early activity of women entrepreneurs who are starting businesses,” said Kendrick.
The AWE supports female entrepreneurs in many ways, including lending programs, training, workshops, advisory services and networking activities. Kendrick explains confidence is a major factor of success. Confidence can be cultivated through connecting to others on the same page, hearing each other’s stories and receiving mentorship support from peers.
According to AWE’s 2018/2019 Annual Report, “one in three women entrepreneurs in Alberta expect to create over six jobs in the next five years.” PeerSpark, AWE’s peer mentorship program, helped create and/or maintain 685 jobs while 139 training sessions facilitated 1514 participants that year.
