Do I Qualify for a Business Loan?
Women’s Enterprise Centre offers two types of business loans for BC women:
- Primary Lending Program for loans up to $150,000
- Specialty Loans, including:
- Joint Youth Loans, for unsecured loans up to $70,000 for women under 40 (available in partnership with Futurpreneur Canada)
- Equal Access to Capital Lending Program, for unsecured loans up to $50,000 if you have a credit score over 650
Basic Eligibility Requirements
All applicants must be:
- A woman who owns and controls at least 51% of a business that is registered and located in British Columbia
- A Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident
- Residing in British Columbia
- Over 19 years old
You Will Need the Following
(And We Can Help!)

Gail Sharma
GKS Law Firm, Lower Mainland
Loan Client
Ineligible Projects
If a project falls into one of the categories below, it is not eligible for Women’s Enterprise Centre financing:
- Projects in the pre-start-up phase for which seed or early-stage capital is required
- Projects still in the research and development phase, beta testing or building of a prototype
- Any business in which the owner does not have operational control over important aspects of the business (this may include some franchises)
- Any business for which the majority of gross revenues do not come from direct sales of the business’s products or services (i.e. Multi-tiered marketing projects)
- Any projects that support businesses that do not operate on a for-profit basis
- Any investment that can be considered speculative
- Refinancing of existing debt from another lender
- Loans greater than $150,000
- Loans for which the secondary financing necessary to the project is not confirmed
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Register for our FREE Business Loan Info Session
Still have questions? Check out our Business Loan FAQs or call us at 1.800.643.7014.
