Launched as a pilot project in 2019 with private sponsorship and internal resources, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, with support since 2020 from the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), has delivered 10 international trade missions and four investment-focused events across the Indo-Pacific through April 2026.
As of April 2026, these initiatives have supported 189 women entrepreneurs from across Canada, generating $49.8 million in confirmed commercial outcomes and tracking 168 active deals under development.
The program demonstrates that targeted, in-person trade programming — when paired with curated business matchmaking and investment engagement — can generate measurable commercial outcomes for underrepresented Canadian entrepreneurs in global markets.
A unique highlight of this mission series was the 2025 Indigenous Meeting on Pacific and Arctic Climate and Trade (IMPACT), representing an important evolution in APF Canada’s approach to trade diversification. IMPACT provides early qualitative insights into how Indigenous women’s leadership intersects with trade, climate policy, and cultural diplomacy, suggesting novel directions for inclusive trade programming.
This report contains both quantitative and qualitative reporting insights emerging from the series, including:
• Demonstrated economic impact (overall WES-supported programming)
• Emerging strategic insights for Indigenous women entrepreneurs (IMPACT).
The report, spanning 2016 to April 2026, also outlines implications for the next phase of Canada’s inclusive trade agenda.
