May 4, 2006
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) has
partnered with the Newfoundland and Labrador Organization
of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE) on their upcoming
conference, "Building the Future
Leading the Way," taking
place in St. John's from May 8 10th, 2006.The annual conference will profile successful women in
business and offer informative educational and professional
development sessions. ACOA is providing $400,000 for NLOWE
to deliver the Business Counselling and Community Outreach
component of the Agency's Women in Business Initiative
(WBI) over the next year. Of this amount, $20,000 will go
towards the conference. "NLOWE's annual business conference is a great way to focus
on learning, networking and celebrating the achievements of
women entrepreneurs from across Newfoundland and Labrador,"
said Senator Ethel Cochrane, on behalf of the Honourable
Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of
ACOA. "Canada's New Government is committed to supporting
our hard-working entrepreneurs as they develop their skills
and continue to build a strong Canadian economy."The conference will offer workshops, training, networking
and a trade show to approximately 200 participants. The
focus will be on learning new business management skills
related to financing, marketing, exporting, succession
planning and operations management. The conference will
also include the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Gala
Dinner on May 9th. "Our annual conference is a key event for NLOWE, and is a
great way for women entrepreneurs to seek out ideas and
information to help their businesses," said Nena Abundo,
executive director of NLOWE. "We are pleased to be
offering another exciting conference, with high profile
guest speakers, informative workshops and lots of
networking opportunities."-30-
Doug Burgess
Director, Public Affairs
ACOA
(709) 772-2935
Nancy Wicks
Communications Coordinator
NLOWE
(709) 754-5555 ext. 230
The conference is supported through ACOA's Women in
Business Initiative (WBI), one of the tools business owners
can use to further expand their business markets and
skills. It provides programs and services to help improve
the growth and competitiveness of women-owned businesses in
Atlantic Canada. The Business Counselling and Community Outreach component
is the cornerstone of WBI, and provides a base of outreach
services and networks for women entrepreneurs across the
province through NLOWE's eight regional facilitators. The
facilitators assist with business counselling and help
address their clients' business management and consultation
needs, directing them to appropriate programs and
services. The WBI is delivered in partnership with NLOWE
and the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Community
Business Development Corporations.
