Entrepreneur Mothers with Lived Experiences Fund

Supporting resilient mothers who are shaping the future

Mothers with lived experiences are strong, creative, and determined to forge a better future for their families and communities.

They have faced and overcome many challenges, but they are still often blocked from getting the business capital they need.

Conventional financing systems often do not support their entrepreneurial dreams, keeping mothers across Canada from reaching their full potential. 

We are building a fund to bridge the gap for entrepreneur mothers.

Unlocking the potential of entrepreneur mothers

Entrepreneur mothers who have faced life-changing traumas possess incredible resilience, creativity, and determination. Their lived and living experiences—such as housing instability, substance use, and violence—have made them stronger. Often pillars of their families and communities, they continue to face systemic discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity, and backgrounds.

Bridging the gap via holistic support

Our fund aims to combine flexible financing with partner programs offering mentorship, business training, and family support services. This integrated approach ensures that entrepreneur mothers have the opportunities they need to succeed in their ventures while caring for their families. 

Co-designing a solution for growth

We are working with Urban Matters and community leaders to finalize our impact and support design. This initiative kicked off in January 2024, aiming to support entrepreneurial mothers across Canada. By demonstrating why investing in their futures is a "good deal," we hope to drive systemic change that recognizes the value and potential of these often overlooked and undervalued members of our society.

Through Spring and Summer 2024, we met with entrepreneur mothers in Vancouver, BC, Edmonton, AB, and London, ON, as well as funders and investors online. These meetings provided valuable insights that are shaping our fund’s approach to supporting entrepreneur mothers and ensuring their success.

Invest in entrepreneur mothers to close the social and economic justice gap.

Lone mothers had the lowest average adjusted income at $25,300, significantly less than lone fathers, and women generally receive a smaller share of their personal income from employment compared to men.
(Statistic Canada, 2016)

$25,300

Female lone-parent households had the highest rate of food insecurity at 41.2%.
(PROOF, University of Toronto, 2022)

41.2%

30.4% of single mother and their children are in low-income households.
(Statistic Canada, 2016)

30.4%

Entrepreneur mothers possess unique strengths and motivations to build businesses for their families' futures.

  • Valuable Entrepreneurial Skills

    Many mothers possess a strong entrepreneurial spirit, resilience, and adaptability honed through their experiences of overcoming adversity and navigating unfamiliar environments.

  • Motivation and Ripple Impact

    Entrepreneur mothers are driven by the desire to create better futures for their children. Their entrepreneurial efforts not only provide for their families but also generate positive impacts in their communities, fostering education, opportunities, and overall community growth.

  • Cultural Diversity

    Their diverse backgrounds and unique perspectives allow them to create businesses with varied cultural offerings, enriching the local economy and fostering cross-cultural exchange.

  • Resilience and Innovation

    Entrepreneur mothers demonstrate remarkable resilience and innovation, using their unique experiences, cultural insights, and community connections to drive business success and social impact.

Investing in entrepreneur mothers' businesses and families

The fund will focus on mothers from diverse backgrounds who have faced and overcome systemic barriers such as homelessness, substance use, and violence. We will work with trusted community organizations and social enterprises that have direct connections to marginalized communities across Canada to identify and engage entrepreneur mothers in need of support.

Entrepreneur mothers who face systemic barriers require holistic support to ensure sustainable growth. The Entrepreneur Mothers Fund will pair flexible financing with partner programs providing mentorship, business training, and family support services.

Increasing access to capital for entrepreneur mothers

We are designing the fund based on three principles: patient and integrated financing, gender-lens investing, and a trust-based approach.

Enhancing business and financial skills

Together with partner organizations, we are expanding access to business and financial support for mothers.

Uplifting families and strengthening communities for lasting change

We will collaborate with partners to help mothers access family support and grow their community connections, providing well-being workshops, community networking, family coaching, and other resources.

Join us!

Support the Entrepreneur Mothers Fund!

Help unlock opportunities for resilient entrepreneurial mothers by investing, partnering, or advocating for their growth. Together, we can bridge the gap and create a more inclusive future.

Want to learn more? Reach out to us.  

New Power Labs is a mission-oriented nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to capital for underfunded and overlooked communities through research and collective action. New Power Labs collaborates with capital deployers across the full capital spectrum — from philanthropy to impact investing to venture capital and bank financing — leveraging research and data benchmarks to shift their policies and practices, and to catalyze system-wide change.

About us

Urban Matters CCC works with municipalities, communities, cities, governments, NPOs, First Nations, social entrepreneurs, and socially conscious business leaders to identify, introduce, and scale innovations that address complex social issues, so that people can live happier and healthier lives.