Entrepreneurship Support – Cohort 2 - OCCA Communities Association

We Thrive BC is a program designed to support women entrepreneurs across British Columbia — especially newcomers, racialized women, and equity-deserving groups — through gender-informed, culturally inclusive business training and peer support. We offer free workshops and personalized one-on-one consultations to help you start, strengthen, and grow your business. This program is funded by the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, in partnership with WeBC.

Cohort 2 is now open for registration.

After a successful first cohort, We Thrive BC returns with a new lineup of facilitators, refreshed topics, and updated content shaped by what our participants told us they needed most. Whether this is your first session or you’re coming back from Cohort 1, you’ll gain practical tools you can use right away, insight from new expert voices, and a community of women building their businesses alongside you.

Cohort 1 alumni are warmly welcome — the content is new, and so are the connections waiting for you.

Join us — it’s free →

Cohort 2 Workshop Topics include:

• Put AI to work for you

• Marketing & branding

• Financing options + business planning

• Legal & operations basics

• Sales strategies

• Digital tools & tech

• Tax & bookkeeping basics

• How companies participate in government-funded projects

• In-person gathering — Kelowna and Vernon

Who should attend:
Women or individuals who self-identify as women and are currently starting or running a business, particularly those located in the Okanagan region and other communities outside Metro Vancouver and Victoria.

Important Note:
Registered women entrepreneurs will receive exclusive online classroom access details for each session two weeks, one week, and three days in advance via email.

Coming Workshop

Session 1:

Sept 22, 2026 | 6–8 PM PT | Zoom | Free

AI shouldn’t just answer questions. It should get work done.

For many small business owners, the problem isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s a lack of time.

That’s why our first session is about moving beyond the chatbot.

From Chatbox to AI Employee
Learn how AI can become a practical part of your business—not just something you occasionally ask questions.

In this live session and following sessions, AI engineer and NexAgent AI Solutions Founder Yao Song will demonstrate real-world ways AI can help small businesses: