THE MOVEMENT BEHIND ALBERTA’S WOMEN BUILT ECONOMY
AWE is more than an organization. We are a movement. One built by thousands of women rewriting Alberta’s economic story in real time.
We’ve always believed in the power of women who build. Not politely. Not quietly. But boldly, courageously, and on their own terms.
Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) was created for every woman who’s ever had an idea that wouldn’t let her go, for every founder who felt out of place in old systems, and for every leader who knew she was capable of more and needed a community that believed it too.
We’ve been that place since 1995.
How We Started and Why We’re Still Here
AWE began in 1995 with a simple, radical idea: women deserve the tools, funding, and support to build the futures they imagine.
Back then, access to capital was harder, networks were smaller, and gatekeeping was more intense. Regardless, Alberta’s women stepped forward and we stepped with them. Decades later, the landscape has changed, but our mission hasn’t: Alberta’s women entrepreneurs drive economic growth and achieve success on their own terms
AWE exists to ignite confidence, spark collaboration, and help women take up space in business. We’re not just closing gaps; we’re shifting the landscape. We believe entrepreneurship is a radical act and every woman who starts something changes everything.
Women-led businesses are the engine of Alberta’s economic resilience and AWE is here to fuel their growth; but this isn’t business as usual. It’s business made bolder, smarter, and more human.
What We Stand For And What We Provide
Every woman who comes to AWE brings something powerful with her: a dream, a skill, a problem only she can solve. Our job is to make sure she never has to build her future alone.
CONFIDENCE
We provide clarity, mentorship, and the kind of practical guidance that makes you think:“Oh. I can actually do this.”
CAPITAL
We offer loans designed specifically for women entrepreneurs in Alberta with human support, real conversations, and no gatekeeping.
COMMUNITY
You step into a circle where women don’t compete for space, they create it together.
The Heart of Our Work: You
You.
The visionary, the problem-solver, the risk-taker, the builder.
You’re why we exist.
Your courage fuels this movement.
Because when one woman rises, she brings others with her.
And when thousands rise at once, something bigger happens:
We change Alberta’s economy.
We change who gets funded.
We change who leads.
We change the story.
And we’re just getting started.
Three Decades of Impact
For 30 years, AWE has been a catalyst for the women shaping Alberta’s future:
86,000
women served across Alberta
45,000
women entrepreneurs trained
30,000
women entrepreneurs mentored
51 Million
in loans delivered to women-owned businesses
Countless stories of resilience, reinvention, and breakthrough.
A growing movement of founders, leaders, and innovators across every corner of the province.
Our Commitment to Alberta
AWE proudly honours the traditional territories across Alberta and the Indigenous women who have been building, leading, and innovating here for generations.
We acknowledge that we are on the traditional territories of many Indigenous peoples, including the Cree, Siksikaitsitapi (Blackfoot Confederacy) comprising the Siksika, Piikani, and Kainai, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Tsuut'ina, and Métis Nations. This land, now known as Alberta, has been a place of meeting, ceremony, and exchange for millennia.
We recognize the enduring presence and profound contributions of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples to this province and commit to working towards reconciliation and respectful relationships.
Our work is grounded in inclusion, welcoming women of all identities, backgrounds, and paths.
This movement is for all of us.
Your Story Is Next
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need permission. You just need a place to begin, or begin again.
AWE is here when you’re ready.