Eligibility Criteria
- A nominee must be active in a profitable business registered and operating in Canada for three full years as of May 31st, 2011. At a minimum, this business must have three complete 12-month periods of financial statements.
- The nominee must own shares of the company, hold the senior executive title and/or be the chief decision maker. She must be responsible for the day-to-day management and the financial bottom line of the company.
- She must be the founder of the business or have had a significant impact on the company if acquired.
If the business is a Private Company:
The Woman Entrepreneur owning a private company must:
- Be the founder of the business or have had a significant impact on the company if acquired
- Own or control the majority of voting shares
- Hold the senior executive title or be the chief decision maker
- Be responsible for day-to-day management and the bottom line of the company
If the business is a Partnership:
For a legal partnership between two or more women entrepreneurs:
- At least one of the partners must be a founder of the business; the partners applying for an Awards must hold the senior management titles and; be responsible for the day-to-day management and bottom line of the company. The Full names and signatures of the partners applying for an Award must be on the application form.
For a legal partnership between a man and woman entrepreneur:
- The woman entrepreneur must: be the founder of the business; hold the senior executive title or be the chief decision maker; be responsible for the day-to-day management and the bottom line of the company; if the partnership were to break up, the woman entrepreneur would retain control of the company.
If the business is a Public Company:
A woman entrepreneur owning a public company must:
- Be the founder of the company; or have had a significant impact on the company if acquired.
- Hold the senior executive title or be the chief decision maker;
- Be responsible for the day-to-day management and the bottom line of the company
The following business ownership structures are NOT eligible for these Awards:
1. Franchisees – While franchisees may use innovative business strategies to grow their operations, they are not founders of the original business concept and structure.
2. Non-Profit Organizations – This Awards program has chosen to honour women entrepreneurs. These are women who enter into a commercial venture, who in many cases use their own capital to assume the risk and responsibility of operating a for-profit business.
3. Associations – Associations are formed to represent a group of like-minded individuals or business interests and are not established to develop a commercial venture.
