Women of Influence+ Announces the 2025 Winners of the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards

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TORONTO, November 14, 2025 — The 33rd annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards, presented by Women of Influence+, proudly announces the seven winners of the 2025 awards honouring outstanding women business owners. These recipients join the five honourees of the Ones to Watch category, announced earlier this fall.

The 2025 awardees exemplify the leadership, innovation, and resilience that define Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit. This year’s recipients represent a remarkable range of industries, including beauty, fashion and apparel, information services, healthcare, fintech, conservation, and civic services.

“We’re proud to continue our long history of supporting women entrepreneurs through this program and beyond – helping them grow their businesses, expand to new markets, and bring their vision to life,” said Sean Amato-Gauci, Group Head, Commercial Banking, Royal Bank of Canada. “The exceptional leaders recognized through the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards demonstrate what’s possible when the bold ideas of women are supported and scaled. Congratulations to each of this year’s winners for your remarkable achievements and the lasting impact you continue to make in your communities.”

Now in its 33rd year, the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards program celebrates Canada’s leading women entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders whose achievements contribute substantially to the local, national, and/or global economies. 

The judging panel of 14 distinguished Canadian business leaders ensures the highest standards of evaluation and recognition. These include:

• Carolyn Ansley, CEO & Founder, Brand for Benefit Toronto
• Virginia Brailey, Partner, Guided Futures Incorporated
• Julie Cole, Co-Founder and Senior Director of Public Relations, Mabel’s Labels
• Jennie Coleman, President, Equifruit Inc.
• Liane Davey, Co-Founder & Principal, 3Coze
• Elizabeth Dipchand, Lawyer & IP Strategist, Dipchand LLP
• Cher Jones, Corporate Trainer and Keynote Speaker, Socially Active
• Aisha Lang, Co-Founder & CEO, Herbaland
• Raymonde Lavoie, Présidente, Conseil des Normes, Advertising Standards Canada
• Françoise Lyon, Co-Founder & President, BromeRock Consulting Group Inc.
• Surranna Sandy, CEO, Skills for Change
• Christine Scott, Founder, The Accomplice Project
• Laura Williams, Founder & Managing Partner, Williams HR Law LLP

The 2025 award recipients were announced at the 33rd Annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards gala, held at the Ritz-Carlton, Toronto on November 14th, 2025, and hosted by Marcia MacMillan, Anchor, CTV News Channel.

This year, thousands of nominations were received from across the country, celebrating visionary women driving growth, inclusion, and innovation in every sector.

The 2025 Award Winners Are:

• Micro-Business Award: Nancy Wingham, Nuez Acres
• Start-Up Award: Alexa Suter, Huha
• RBC Momentum Award: Rasha Katabi, Brim Financial
• Social Change Award – Regional Impact: Erin Seeley, YWCA Metro Vancouver
• Social Change Award – National Impact: Catherine Grenier, The Nature Conservancy of Canada
• Innovation Award: Chantal Michel, Librairie Raffin Inc.
• Excellence Award: Fatima Ebrahim Jivraj, Family Braces

The gala also recognized the 2025 Ones to Watch Award recipients:

• Inga Avedyan, TEMPÊTE
• Paige Cey, Benny
• Karla Congson, Agentiiv
• Rashmi Prakash, Aruna Revolution Health Inc.
• Woganee Filate, Lume Women + Health Inc.
• Amy Louis Bayliss, Lume Women + Health Inc.
• Sarah Shaw, Lume Women + Health Inc.
• Lindsay Jephcott, Lume Women + Health Inc.

“This year’s winners reflect the strength and diversity of Canada’s entrepreneurial landscape,” said Linda Kuga Pikulin, President, Women of Influence+. “Their success stories highlight how women’s leadership continues to drive progress across industries and communities.”

The 2025 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards are presented by Women of Influence+. Award presenters include RBC, TELUS Health, and Sam McDadi, with EY as the official Due Diligence partner. RBC also hosted the VIP Reception. Clinique is this year’s Official Beauty Sponsor, joined by Bulova and Dean Davidson as Gift Sponsors.          

For more information on this year’s award winners, visit www.womenofinfluence.ca/rbc-cwea.

About the RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards

The RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards are the pre-eminent national business awards recognizing Canada’s leading women entrepreneurs. The awards are an initiative of Women of Influence+, a global organization dedicated to advancing women in leadership and celebrating their achievements.

About RBC

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 100,000+ employees who bring our vision, values, and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s largest bank and one of the world’s largest by market capitalization, we focus on innovation and exceptional client experiences for our 18 million clients in Canada, the U.S., and 27 other countries. Learn more at rbc.com.

We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives through donations, investments, and employee volunteering. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.

About Women of Influence Worldwide Inc.

At Women of Influence+ (WOI+), our mission is to drive meaningful change by amplifying the voices and success stories of diverse role models. We strive to redefine perceptions of leadership and gender through storytelling, community, and representation. By sharing authentic narratives from the podium to the page, we inspire, educate, and empower the next generation of leaders.

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For Interview requests or further information, please contact:
Adrienne Harry, PR, Women of Influence+: aharry@silverliningmarketing.com
Lauren Ng, Corporate Communications, RBC: lauren.ng@rbc.com