Speaker Kate Tomen of Angel Investors Ontario kicks off a series of International Women’s Day seminars for Richmond Hill’s Small Business Enterprise Centre.
Women can win in the business world, and Richmond Hill has a week of free talks designed to help them do it.

Empowering Women through Entrepreneurship, hosted by Richmond Hill’s Small Business Enterprise Centre for International Women’s Day, is open to anyone.

Most of the talks are virtual.

It’s estimated just 17 per cent of Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses are owned by women, something session organizers want to change.

The series starts at 10 a.m. Monday (March 4) with Angel Investing Unveiled, in which speaker Kate Tomen enlightens women entrepreneurs seeking startup funding, and Financial Modeling for Startup Founders.

At 6:50 p.m., Tuesday, March 5, How to Start a Small Business is presented, step-by-step by Richmond Hill’s Small Business Enterprise Centre consultant Priti Ruparel.

On Wednesday, March 6, Shohreh Sabaghpour, Zuly Matallana, and Tehmina Chaudhry, a trio of women immigrants, share their pursuit of entrepreneurial dreams in a session called Bridges Beyond from 10 a.m. to noon.

Another 10 a.m.-to-noon virtual session, Improving your Social Media with ChatGPT, on Thursday, March 7 has Sarah Tolpina explaining how to leverage artificial intelligence online.

5 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Delivering on years of CME advocacy, the Ontario government announced in Budget 2023 that certain businesses may be eligible to receive Corporate Income Tax relief for investments in buildings, machinery and equipment used for manufacturing or processing.

By attending this webinar, you will learn about:

• Types of companies eligible to claim the credit
• Which expenditures can be reimbursed, and to what extent
• Administrative procedures to follow when claiming
• Policy intent and role of the credit in Ontario’s manufacturing strategy
• Do’s and don’ts for effective tax liability management

WELCOME TO OFVC

The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention (OFVC) is an annual 2-day gathering of horticultural crop producers involved in the production of fruits and vegetables. The convention is attended by a cross section of the horticultural sector including government, industry, business, consultants, producers, associations, researchers and educators from across Canada and features a great lineup of horticultural experts, educational sessions, trade show exhibitors and great networking opportunities. If you grow, this is one event you can’t afford to miss!

Feature Friday by Richmond Hill Economic Development – Shoutout to RichmondHill based LUMESMART INC. for celebrating 10 years in business! Lumesmart provides innovative high efficiency LED lighting for the health and safety, food production and agriculture sectors thanks to the talent and achievement of Founder and CEO shohreh sabaghpour.

Shohreh has been nominated for the 2023 PARO Centre For Women’s Enterprise Trailblazer Award, Named a Canadian Women in Manufacturing Champion in 2022 among many other awards and accolades!

Lumesmart has recently partnered with Niagara College Business and Commercialization Innovation Centre to further the innovative and groundbreaking work in the LED lighting industry.