November was a stellar month for the Investment Readiness Program (IRP). To begin, three co-operatives received funding for their projects from the Canadian Women’s Foundation—a huge success for the co-operative sector! Get to know the co-operatives and read their stories here.
On November 2nd and 3rd, Daniel Brunette and Sope Ogunrinde from CMC participated in virtual and in-person sessions of the Sustainable Finance Forum organized by Ryan Turnbull, MP for Whitby and Chair of the Social Innovation Caucus. The six virtual sessions focused on women’s entrepreneurship, energy transition, Black entrepreneurship, Indigenous entrepreneurship and reconciliation, food security and affordable housing. The in-person events on Parliament Hill included remarks from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as well as many of Canada’s Ministers. The in-person panels discussed mobilizing capital to fight climate change and mobilizing capital to build an economy for all Canadians.
Furthermore, CMC co-hosted a capacity building workshop with the Chantier de l’economie sociale and Conseil québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité (CQCM) on November 24th .Canadian Women’s Foundation, Caisse de l’économie solidaire, Desjardins and were also invited to participate in the “Ask The Funder” panel. We look forward to hosting other workshops in the new year.
CMC also proudly attended the Social Economy through Social Inclusion (SETSI) conference, The People’s Social Impact Conference, during the weekend. Executive Director, Hugues Bourgeois, attended various panels all weekend and took part in some important discussions. Sope Ogunrinde, Project Manager Social Innovation and Social Finance Partnerships, was invited to speak at the conference, appearing on The Future of the Cooperatives Movement in Canada. There, she shared insights about the Investment Readiness Program as well as the importance of diversity and inclusion in the co-op sector.
Lastly, throughout the month, CMC jointly hosted 3 webinars on the IRP with Local Food and Farm Co-op, Blooming Ladies Co-op, and the Black Women Professional Workers Co-op. We are looking forward to jointly hosting webinars with the Conseil économique et coopératif de la Saskatchewan on December 6th, and the Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario (date to be confirmed). Please make sure to keep an eye out on our events page to find out when our webinars occur.