As an entrepreneur it can be challenging to find and prepare for the right grant, loan, or investment opportunity.
We are here to help!
The Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network (WOSEN) is hosting Investment Readiness Supports for women and gender non-binary people who lead established social ventures, who have a defined capital need, and who are preparing for funding or investment in the coming year.
- Open registration (no end date)
- Program
- Social Ventures
Where
Meet us online: Zoom Classroom and on the Common Platform.
What You’ll Gain
As a participant, you’ll…
- Improve your venture story and presentation
- Get to know the funding landscape
- Map out a clear and actionable funding and capital plan
- Understand when a grant, a loan, or an investment is best for your venture
- Prepare for current funding opportunities matched to your needs
What’s Included
Participate in one 3-hour program orientation where you will begin to develop your funding and capital plan for your venture.
You then can choose to participate in the following offerings:
- Join a monthly workshop that dives deep into investment readiness with special guests and exercises that help you to develop a funding and capital plan
- Meet with us one-to-one to review your plan, or your funding submissions
- Participate in monthly peer circles where your peers share back valuable insights and peer support
- Our team will research funding opportunities matched to your needs
- Find funding and opportunity updates on The Common Platform
We aim to provide a tailored approach to meet the needs of your venture and industry.
Eligibility Criteria
- Women identified or Gender Non-binary
- Founder or 51% ownership of a social purpose business – that can be a charity, non-profit, or social enterprise that is revenue-generating and has a defined social or environmental purpose
- You must be…
- Generating earned revenue or seeking R&D investment into your product
- Incorporated as a for-profit, not-for-profit, cooperative, or charity
- Working full-time on the venture
- Seeking to raise capital for a defined purpose through a loan application, or a grant, or an equity raise over the next 12- 24 months, or seeking to receive COVID response supports
If you are thinking about this opportunity but are in an earlier stage of development, please look our WOSEN page for social venture start-up and growth programs that can help you get started on your business plan or support your business strategy.
Get Investment Readiness Supports
Once you register for this program:
- We will reach out to set up a 30 min call to learn about your goals
- You will attend an informational session with your peers
- Together, we’ll start working towards your goals
This program is open intake on a continuous basis.
Investment Readiness Supports is brought to you by the Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network (WOSEN), a collaboration with the Centre for Social Innovation, SVX, Pillar Nonprofit Network and the NORDIK Institute. Funding isprovided through the Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy, Canada.
About WOSEN
The Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network (WOSEN) offers a suite of programs for women interested in starting or growing their own ventures that seek to have a positive social, cultural or environmental impact through their operations, and/or the sale of their products or services.
Although collectively the term ‘women’ is used throughout this page, WOSEN is dedicated to equity and inclusion, and seeks to support women-identified and gender non-binary entrepreneurs from underserved and underrepresented communities. This includes Indigenous women, women in rural or remote regions, racialized women, newcomer women, LGBTQ2+, women with disabilities, and those who identify as gender non-binary.
WOSEN works to unleash the entrepreneurial energy and capacity of women who have solutions that put people and the planet first. Together, we are redesigning how business supports are provided so these entrepreneurs can build the skills, make the connections, and receive the coaching needed to achieve their missions.
See all the initiatives within the WOSEN program here!
Partners and Funders
WOSEN is funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. The Government of Canada is advancing gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, and supporting women entrepreneurs through the new Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, announced in the Budget 2018. It is a $2-billion investment that seeks to double the number of women-owned businesses by 2025.
Fed Dev Ontario


Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network


Part of the CSI Invests Initiative
At CSI we take on early experiments to invest, incubate, fund and finance the Next Economy. Learn more about our approach here.

