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.
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 10 October 2026
Counting down to Friday, 20 November 2026
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Why these awards exist
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 Excellence Award
Consulting, finance, legal, HR, real estate, education, manufacturing and other B2B or professional service firms.
Criteria & entryThe process
Judged with the seriousness her work has already earned.
Six stages stand between a name being put forward and that name being read aloud. Not one of them is for sale. What she built is the only thing that carries her through.
1
Nominations
The form opens on 10 September 2026 and closes on 10 October 2026. Anyone may nominate, including the founder herself.
2
Screening
IWEC staff confirm every nomination meets baseline eligibility and sits in the right category before a judge ever sees it.
3
Voting
A public vote opens on the screened nominees. It runs alongside the judging and is put in front of the panel as a signal of community standing.
4
Independent scoring
A minimum of three judges score each nomination separately against the published weighted criteria. Judges do not confer before submitting.
5
Finalist selection
The three highest scoring nominees in each category, by averaged judge score, are announced publicly as finalists.
6
Winner selection
Winners are chosen from the three finalists by the same panel. The two signature honours are deliberated separately by the full panel.
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.
Key dates
The road to 20 November
10 September 2026
Nominations open
Self nominations and third party nominations accepted across all six entry categories and the Global Roots award.
10 October 2026 · 11:59 PM ET
Nominations close
The form closes. No late entries, because the judging schedule does not allow them.
13 to 17 October
Screening
Eligibility confirmed, duplicate nominations merged, and category placement settled.
20 to 30 October
Public voting
The community vote opens on screened nominees while independent judge scoring runs in parallel.
5 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.
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 support10 September 2026 to 10 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.
