Media Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 8, 2022

Supporting and empowering women
Conexus commits to the ongoing advancement of women

(Tuesday, March 8, 2022 – Regina, Saskatchewan) – Today, and every day, Conexus Credit Union (Conexus) is dedicated to supporting the advancement of women across its organization and within the communities it serves. As part of this commitment, in 2021 Conexus signed the Saskatchewan Women Entrepreneurship Charter, an initiative launched by Women Entrepreneurs Saskatchewan (WESK) to address the entrepreneurship gap in our province.

“One of our key values is to “Be Bold & Creative”, to act with courage, be curious and
challenge the status quo,” said Nicole Westerlund, Vice President of Member & Community Engagement, Conexus. “Signing the Charter falls within this value and signifies our continued commitment to breaking the bias and moving the needle closer to gender parity in Saskatchewan.”

Credit unions have a long history of empowering women through mentorship, development opportunities, business financing, program resourcing, and community investment initiatives. They are known for many firsts, including being the first financial institutions to lend money to women in their name.

Conexus has taken an innovative approach to advancing and empowering women; including:

• Supporting female founders via Cultivator powered By Conexus, which has incubated 29 female-founded tech startups right here in Saskatchewan.

• By financing female startups via Conexus Venture Capital Inc., which has invested in six companies with a female founder; each of which is performing with an 80-90% IRR.

• Establishing and maintaining gender equality on its Board of Directors and its Executive Leadership Team

• Contributing funding to women-focused community partners such as Amakon Women Empowerment, Dress for Success Regina + Saskatoon, SOFIA House, YWCA Regina’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Initiative, and more.

• Sponsoring the WESK Gala & Summit, University of Regina’s Inspiring Leadership Forum, and YWCA Women of Distinction Awards

“We are proud to work with so many female entrepreneurs, leaders, founders, and
changemakers across the province every day, and we’re excited to be a part of this movement to amplify our ongoing investment in women entrepreneurs,” said Westerlund. “We celebrate the strong female leaders across our organization and in our communities today, and we'll be here to champion, support, and celebrate the next generation of local women entrepreneurs.”

While Conexus has started to move the needle towards helping to create a more gender-equal province, there is still more important work to be done, and Conexus is committed to continuing to lead this change for future generations.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Conexus’ Media Relations
Phone: 306-751-8201
Email: publicrelations@conexus.ca

About Conexus Credit Union
Conexus is a forward-thinking credit union committed to our members and their financial well-being. We have worked hard to earn our members’ trust over our 84-year history. Located across Saskatchewan, we are Saskatchewan’s largest credit union, and we take our role as guardians of our members’ financial well-being very seriously. As a credit union, our profits are returned to our members through our rates, no-fee accounts, community investment, and more. Please visit http://www.www.conexus.ca for more information.