Gore Bay, ON - Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario - FedNor
Today, Marc G. Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and to the Minister of Official Languages, announced a Government of Canada investment of $999,620 so that the LaCloche Manitoulin Business Assistance Corporation (LAMBAC) can continue to deliver the Northern Ontario Women program across Northern Ontario. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services and Minister responsible for FedNor.
The NOW program provides a maximum of $5,000 to women-owned and women-led small businesses to help cover the cost of professional and training services so they can start-up or take their businesses to the next level. The goal of this pan-Northern project is to address challenges facing women entrepreneurs, particularly filling a gap in rural areas where services and training are not offered or affordable on an individual basis. Led by LAMBAC, NOW is supported by all 24 of Northern Ontario's Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDCs), who help promote the program and deliver local training events in their service areas. This priority project is expected to support over 110 business and help create 145 full-time jobs.
Since 2019, NOW has supported close to 400 women-owned and led businesses, which led to the expansion and modernization of more than 260 and helped create over 300 full-time jobs in Northern Ontario.
