Challenges Faced

As of 2020, 87,998 businesses closed, mainly due to the pandemic. However, compared with the numbers from 2021, only 39,216 businesses closed, and 42,160 businesses opened.

About 70.4% of "mirco-enterprises" last roughly five years on the market; micro-enterprises being companies with only 1-4 employees. Compared to other small businesses, they have lower failure rates.

As of 2018 44,700 Canadians started a business venture, which was the highest number in the past 10 years.

According to Startup Canada, small businesses and startups face three main challenges:

1. 75% of entrepreneurs said acquring the proper funding for their business was their main challenge.

2. 63% of entrepreneurs said that the selling of their product or service was their main challenge.

3. 62% of entrepreneurs said that having a regular cash flow was their main challenge.

51% of 250,000 surveyed entrepreneurs identified as women in a 2018 census from Startup Canada.

Of this 51%, 29% were identified as women of colour, which is up 22% from last year.

As of 2022, there are still a higher number of male entrepreneurs. Data conducted by the BDC shows that by 2030 there should be an equal number of male and female entrepreneurs.

Women in Business

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, a business can be considered a small business if it employs less than 50 employees. Small businesses also typically create products or offer services for items that do not have a mass market.

Small businesses in sectors such as construction, agriculture, and personal services contribute the most to economic development.

Definition