Women’s entrepreneur accelerator program needs funding to stay alive, as Windsor ranks poorly for female-owned businesses

There are a lot of reasons for Amy Borrelli to celebrate.

Not only did she hold a soft opening this weekend for her scented candle business, SoHum, but she recently won thousands of dollars by winning a pitch competition for women entrepreneurs.

It’s the tail end of an annual program which helps women turn their business dreams into reality. That program, however, is funded by the federal government — and the date when that money stops coming is fast approaching.

On Thursday, Borrelli won the VentureWomen pitch competition, beating out eight other women entrepreneurs to take home a $3,000 grant for her business.

VentureWomen is a four-month accelerator program for businesswomen looking to explore their ideas, increase their entrepreneurial skills, expand their network and grow their business.

The program connects businesswomen with workshops, mentors and networking opportunities.

"I think, as women, we can be people pleasers a lot, wanting to be there for everyone all the time — and that translates into our businesses," said Borrelli, adding she rarely turns off her phone and finds herself responding to work messages at midnight.

"So it was good to know that I'm not the only one out there that's like that … It can be a very lonely journey. I’m sure a lot of women who are entrepreneurs feel this way."

According to Statistics Canada, Windsor has historically ranked as the worst city in Ontario where women start up their own businesses and one of the lowest in all of Canada.

Wen Toeh, director of the University of Windsor’s Epicentre which operates the VentureWomen program, women — "not just in Windsor but everywhere" — continue to face a number of barriers that may stop them from becoming entrepreneurs.

"If they hold multiple roles like being a mother, a student, having another job, having to take care of family members, women traditionally always take on those responsibilities," said Toeh, adding the VentureWomen program looks to serve as an "opportunity" for women to start up their own business.

"This program is funded by the Government of Canada under the Women Entrepreneurship strategy. The goal of launching that fund is to double the number of women entrepreneurs in five years."

The VentureWomen program started in January 2020, according to Toeh, who said Thursday’s pitch competition marked the end of its third fiscal year.

But that funding will come to an end in March 2023.

"We are actively seeking for funding to continue the program," said Toeh, adding the program has supported more than 40 women become entrepreneurs.

"The program has been so successful. We already have requests from other women entrepreneurs who want to join the program. So I'm very hopeful that we will have funding to continue the program."

For Borrelli, she would like to see entrepreneurship promoted to more women in Windsor-Essex and adds the lessons she learned in the VentureWomen program are something she will hold on to forever.

"It was comforting to hear the experiences of other women and how they are doing in their journey: those who are families, those who don’t, those who are young," she said.

"It was a really great group of all different experiences to really learn from."

SoHum is located in Windsor’s Walkerville neighbourhood and allows people to pick out a scent and mix it into a candle, hand soap, body wash, room spray or diffuser.