01
Business AchievementStartup of the Year
An early stage business, roughly under three years old, showing real traction and a clear runway to grow.
Criteria & entryInaugural Year · Friday, 20 November 2026
Honouring the Immigrant Women Building Canada Forward.
An initiative of Newcomers Success Network Canada, the IWEC Business Excellence Awards 2026 recognise immigrant women entrepreneurs who rebuilt everything in a country that did not yet know their name, and built businesses that now hold their own in it.
Free to enter · Nominations close 20 October 2026
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Why IWEC Business Excellence Awards 2026
Recognition is not vanity. It is working capital.
Immigrant women start businesses in this country at a remarkable rate, and they do it with the odds arranged against them: qualifications that do not transfer, banks that will not lend without Canadian credit history, professional networks that took a lifetime to build somewhere else and had to be rebuilt from nothing here.
They do it anyway. They open their business, register the corporation, hire the first employee, sign the lease, make payroll through a bad quarter.
A serious, publicly judged award changes the arithmetic. It is a third party saying, in writing, that the business is real and the person running it is exceptional. That is why we have been unreasonably strict about how these awards are judged. An award that can be bought is worth nothing to the woman who wins it.
See every award category
6Award categories
3+Independent judges per category
150Guests on the night
2Signature honours of the year
Awards at a glance
Six categories. Two signature honours.
Six industry and achievement categories, the Global Roots storytelling award, and the flagship honour that closes the night. A nominee may be submitted for more than one category, and the panel will place her where she is strongest.
02
Industry & InnovationWomen in STEM & Technology Award
Founders building in technology, AI, engineering, science, fintech, cybersecurity or health tech.
Criteria & entry
03
Industry & InnovationSustainable Business & Social Impact Award
A commercially viable business built around meaningful environmental or social impact, where the impact and the business model are the same thing.
Criteria & entry
04
Industry & InnovationHospitality, Food & Tourism Entrepreneur Award
Restaurants, catering, food brands, hotels, travel and tourism businesses, the industries where culture becomes commerce.
Criteria & entry
05
Industry & InnovationHealth, Wellness, Beauty & Aesthetics Entrepreneur Award
Healthcare practices, wellness and fitness businesses, salons, skincare brands and medical aesthetics clinics.
Criteria & entry
06
Industry & InnovationProfessional Services & Business Award
Consulting, finance, legal, HR, real estate, education, manufacturing and other B2B or professional service firms.
Criteria & entryKey dates
The road to 20 November
14 September 2026
Nominations open
Self nominations and third party nominations accepted across all six entry categories and the Global Roots award.
13 October 2026 · 11:59 PM ET
Nominations close
The form closes. No late entries, because the judging schedule does not allow them.
20 October 2026 · 11:59 PM ET
Nominations extended
New deadline on popular demand. After this, the form finally closes. No new entries.
21 to 23 October
Screening
Eligibility confirmed, duplicate nominations merged, and category placement settled.
24 October to 8 November
Public voting
The community vote opens on screened nominees while independent judge scoring runs in parallel.
13 November
Finalists announced
Three finalists per category are notified and published, with badges and assets you can use straight away.
Friday, 20 November 2026
The evening
Reception, ceremony and the flagship honour, announced last, as it should be.
Nominating someone
She will never say it about herself. That is what you are for.
The women who deserve this most are usually the ones too busy running the business to write about it. Self nominations are welcome, and third party nominations are actively encouraged, from customers, suppliers, mentors, staff and members of the community.
- The form takes about 15 minutes if you have her numbers to hand.
- A nominee is contacted for confirmation before scoring begins.
- Nominating costs nothing. There is no entry fee at any stage of this programme.
- If you are not sure she qualifies, put her forward anyway and let the panel decide.
SUPPORTED BY
Our Sponsors & Partners
Diamond Sponsor
Gold Sponsors
Media Partner
Community Partners
Partner with us
Put your brand where the story actually is.
Sponsorship of the inaugural IWEC Awards places your organisation in front of the founders, funders and community leaders in the room, and on the record as backing immigrant women in business before it was a headline.
Title and category partners
Naming rights on the evening or on one of the awards, with your executive presenting the trophy on stage.
See packagesCommunity support
For non profits, chambers, incubators and settlement agencies, with reciprocal promotion and complimentary places.
Talk to usIn kind support
Photography, floristry, printing, AV, hair and makeup, gifting and beverage partners are all needed and credited.
Offer support14 September 2026 to 20 October 2026
Nominations Open
Someone you know has built something remarkable and has never once been asked to tell the story. Take fifteen minutes and put her forward.
