Women Entrepreneurs: Debt Financing and Banking Relationships‪.‬

Introduction Women-owned businesses are integral to accomplishing national and regional goals of economic welfare and job creation. Over 2.6 million people were employed by businesses with at least one women owner in 2001 and women entrepreneurs brought in combined annual revenues of $407 billion in 2000, representing 43% of Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Government of Canada, 2004). Women hold, on average, majority ownership in approximately 18% of firms in Canada, with a high of 21% in the province of Quebec and a low of 9% in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (Government of Canada, 2004).