Small Business Week: Kick-Off Networking Event (In-Person)

SMALL BUSINESS WEEK 2024

The Vaughan Business & Entrepreneurship Centre (VBEC) in partnership with the Vaughan Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a morning of networking, light refreshments, and a program including welcome remarks from VBEC, and Vaughan Chamber of Commerce, address and keynote from the Business Development bank of Canada, and panel discussion sharing more on 'The Future of DEI in Small Business' presented in partnership with BDC and TechConnex, and how you can incorporate Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion into your business!

Location: TBD

Hosted by the VBEC every October, Small Business Week is a nationally recognized celebration of the contributions small businesses make to the economy. This year’s Small Business Week will focus on empowering businesses to become more inclusive, sustainable and resourceful through providing content on a variety of programs, practical tools and strategies to embrace diversity and inclusion and understanding cultural competence.

The presenting sponsor for Small Business Week 2024 is the Business Development Bank of Canada(BDC) and programming is being delivered together with local business support organizations.

Registrations are currently open to small businesses and entrepreneurs. For a full schedule of events, including descriptions, please visit vaughanbusiness.ca/SBW.

Keynote Speaker

Fatiha Senhaji, Vice President, Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

Fatiha is a trilingual, seasoned and award-winning business development leader with exceptional knowledge of innovative business strategies, risk management, continuous improvement, and inclusive entrepreneurship.

She joined BDC in June 2023, and as Vice President, Inclusive Entrepreneurship, she leads the bank’s national strategy to break down barriers and to meet the needs of underserved and diverse clients. Supported by a team of DEI+A (diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility) regional managers across the country, Fatiha’s Inclusive Entrepreneurship team focuses on doing more, and better, to help entrepreneurs who consistently face common challenges—from unconscious bias and discrimination to the lack of funds and networks they need to succeed with their business. The team’s mission is to strengthen support for diverse entrepreneurs, as well as to offer the right opportunities to help them overcome barriers to thrive and grow their businesses.

Fatiha has always been passionate about entrepreneurship and helping companies succeed in business. She was formerly National Director, Industry and Zero Barriers to Business Programs at BMO Financial Group, and previously Vice President, Treasury and Payment Solutions, and Vice President, Business Banking and Bank Manager, at BMO.

As a first generation Canadian of Moroccan descent, Fatiha has a distinctive perspective on bias and the experiences of underrepresented groups across Canada. She is a passionate ambassador for diversity and is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in Canada’s entrepreneurial communities and ensuring equal access to financing and advice for underrepresented entrepreneurs.

About BDC’s commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship

BDC’s long-standing support for diverse entrepreneurs also includes a Virtual Business Centre for Inclusive Entrepreneurship, as well as a $50 million Inclusive Entrepreneurship financing and training program, and an investment of $200 million in Indigenous and Black-led businesses with BDC Capital. To date, BDC has committed over 8 billion dollars to underserved business owners directly through programs like the Indigenous Entrepreneur Loan and Thrive Fund, and indirectly through partners like Futurpreneur, FACE, NACCA, BKR Capital, and Raven Capital. Hundreds of free education resources are also available at bdc.ca.

Panelists

Fatiha Senhaji, Vice President, Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

Nicole Stibbe, EDI Consultant & Strategist, Soulwork Alliance

Host or Publisher City of Vaughan, Economic and Cultural Development / Vaughan Business Enterprise Centre