Girl Power: Cox & Palmer Investing in Women Entrepreneurs
HALIFAX – Four partners from Atlantic Canadian law firm Cox & Palmer are hoping to empower their fellow Canadian business women.
Anna Cook, Stephanie Hickman, Rebecca Atkinson and Katie O’Neill have become SheEO Activators as part of SheEO’s Radical Generosity Initiative. Through crowdfunding, the initiative calls for 1000 women across Canada to commit $1,000 each to help transform how women-led ventures are supported, financed and celebrated.
“When we heard about SheEO, it immediately spoke to us – here’s a way we can leverage our knowledge and career success to help other business women realize their full potential,” said Anna Cook.
According to statistics, only four per cent of venture capital goes to female entrepreneurs and, if women were financed to the same degree as their male counterparts, 6 million jobs would be created in North America in the next 5 years.
“It’s not just the money that female entrepreneurs need, they also need networks of support and the collective buying power of women to help grow their businesses,” said Vicki Saunders, Founder of SheEO.
Every one of the 1000 women who contributes $1,000 will take part in selecting 10 winning business ventures this fall and each venture will share in the $1 million funding pool as a zero percent interest loan.