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As a way to honour women-owned small businesses in Canada, Mastercard has announced the expansion of the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund and new benefits for small business cardholders.
The Small Business Fund plans to provide ten women-owned small businesses $10,000 each in funding. This is double the number of recipients compared to last year. Meanwhile, partnerships with McAfee and Virtual Gurus along with access to Easy Savings Specials will provide Canadian small business Mastercard cardholders savings on products and services.
“Small businesses make up 98 per cent of all businesses in Canada, but only 17.7 per cent of those are majority owned by women,” Mastercard Canada Small Business Lead Nishant Raina said in a statement.
“Mastercard believes when small businesses – including women-owned small businesses – thrive, we all thrive. Through our partnership with Pier Five, we are providing women small businesses owners with access to the opportunities they deserve,” he continued.
According to research conducted by Mastercard, female entrepreneurs say being part of a community has a number of benefits. For instance, 41 per cent say it helps build confidence, 40 per cent say it created a network for clients and 39 per cent admit it provided opportunities to share insights with their peers.
“As women small business owners, the funding we received from Mastercard was integral in helping us achieve our 2023 business goals, including developing new products and growing our online presence,” Co-founders of Apricotton and one of the recipients of the inaugural Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund Jessica Miao and Chloe Beaudoin said in a media release.
“But the support we received went beyond just funding. By connecting with a community of our peers, we’ve been able to learn from one another and expand our professional network,” they added.
Mastercard has a mission to use its resources and tools to foster community for women entrepreneurs in Canada.
APPLYING FOR THE MASTERCARD X PIER FIVE SMALL BUSINESS FUND
From now until November 5, Canadian women small business owners can apply for the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund. In addition to the funding, Mastercard is planning an event called Priceless Experience in Toronto where Fund recipients can meet and connect in one space. The event will also connect them to valuable mentorship opportunities with Mastercard executives and partners.
Co-founders of Pier Five Julian Golden and Jeff Lei say Mastercard and Pier Five share the same vision, to build connections and facilitate conversations that focus on small business growth. That is why it has decided to partner with Mastercard for the second year in a row.
NEW MASTERCARD SMALL BUSINESS CARD HOLDER BENEFITS
In a time where small businesses are battling inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain disruptions, Mastercard is helping by introducing new cardholder benefits that will meet the demands of the evolving business climate.
“Small business owners are often stretched for resources, including IT and skilled talent,” Mastercard Canada Small Business Lead Nishant Raina said.
“We have partnered with leading cybersecurity and virtual talent providers to help Canadian entrepreneurs increase their digital safety and onboard talent that allows them to focus on growth. Through these partnerships and other savings programs, we are connecting Mastercard small business cardholders with valued resources and creating crucial cost savings for their businesses,” he continued.
These benefits are now available across Mastercard BusinessCard and World Elite Mastercard for Business. Small business cardholders can access new benefits to help address key needs and generate significant savings, including:
McAfee: Mastercard BusinessCard and World Elite Mastercard for Business cardholders receive a discounted 13-month subscription to McAfeeTM Total Protection for Mastercard 10-Devices plan and a complimentary 13-month subscription to McAfee’s TechMate software with paid purchase. These advanced features will provide small businesses with award-winning antivirus protection, secure VPN, web protection, content controls, and more.
Virtual Gurus: World Elite Mastercard for Business cardholders receive a 20 per cent discount on the first three months of their subscription to Virtual Gurus, a talent marketplace that leverages proprietary technology to match organizations with highly skilled virtual assistants. Offer not available to Quebec-based cardholders.
Mastercard Easy Savings Specials: Whether small businesses are looking to level up their content marketing, unleash business potential or power up their customer relationship management, Mastercard Easy Savings Specials has an offer to help them build, run and grow their business. Mastercard Business Cardholders can visit www.easysavingsspecials.com/en/ to access localized offers and earn rebates from top global merchants. Small businesses can unlock offers on a wide range of business essentials across the categories that matter most, including 20 per cent off iStock by Getty Images subscriptions for content needs, 15 per cent off Global Airport Concierge services for business travel, 20 per cent off the first year of Pipedrive and more.
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