The Scotiabank Women Initiative expands to Chile

Santiago, August 24, 2022 - As part of its commitment to increase economic and professional opportunities for women, Scotiabank today is proud to announce the expansion of The Scotiabank Women Initiative to Chile.

The Scotiabank Women Initiative is a unique offering helping thousands of women pursue their best professional and financial futures by providing unbiased access to financing and tailored solutions, bespoke specialized education, holistic advisory services and mentorship. The program operates in Canada and earlier this year launched in Jamaica and Costa Rica. The expansion to Chile (where Scotiabank has been present for more than 31 years), marks the first expansion of the program in the Pacific Alliance.

The Scotiabank Women Initiative started in Canada in December 2018, initially supporting women-owned and women-led businesses. Since then, the program has expanded to also support senior corporate women leaders grow in their career, and women wealth clients to manage their investments. To date the program has supported more than 10,000 women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.

“We are very pleased to be expanding The Scotiabank Women Initiative to Chile, the first country in the Pacific Alliance, where we will be able to build on the success we have had in Canada and other countries across Latin America and the Caribbean. The mission of the program is to break down barriers to increase economic and professional opportunities for women to be successful now, and in the future”, said Anya Schnoor, Executive Vice President of Scotiabank and executive sponsor of the International expansion. “With the program now in Chile, we will continue generating a positive impact for our customers in other geographies, while aiming to expand the SWI across most of our major markets by the end of 2025”, she added.

The opportunity for corporate women leaders in Chile is significant – according to the World Bank, while just over half of women in Chile are in the labour force, women are 29% less likely than men to have equal opportunities.  Additionally, according to a study developed by the Department of Management Control and Information Systems, School of Economics and Business of the Universidad de Chile, women-led businesses are associated with growth, high impact, innovation and opportunities.

Scotiabank is bringing The Scotiabank Women Initiative to Chile to support these business opportunities and to help women in Chile achieve business success.

“We are proud to launch The Scotiabank Women Initiative in Chile, because we are confident that it will create opportunities and make a significant contribution to empowering women in leadership in the business world. At Scotiabank we are convinced that equity between men and women generates progress for everyone and that it is essential to promote concrete actions that allow us to continue moving in this direction,” said Susan Salas, Vice-President, Risk and the program sponsor in Chile.

The Scotiabank Women Initiative kicked off in Chile at a launch event attended by more than 100 women executives and business owners. The event featured presentations by the outstanding Chilean businesswomen Daniela Lorca, founder of Babytuto, and Dominique Rosenberg, creator of DBS Beauty Store, who discussed in depth the challenges and opportunities they faced during the development of their companies. Also, as part of the event, a panel discussion was held, moderated by Scotiabank Chile Director, Fernanda Vicente, featuring Alejandra Mustakis, an entrepreneur and former president of the Asociación de Emprendedores de Chile (ASECH); Jeannette von Wolfersdorff, an economist and member of the Consejo Fiscal Autónomo; and Rocío Fonseca, expert in innovation.

The three pillars of the program are:

1. Access to financing and tailored solutions, providing equal access and tailored solutions for women-led and women-owned businesses.
2. Bespoke specialized education, offering tools and workshops aimed at promoting women's professional and entrepreneurial careers, enhancing their skills, confidence and technical knowledge.
3. Mentorship and Advisory Services, providing inclusive services focused on women to connect them with their peers and generate professional development opportunities by promoting networking.

For more information, visit scotiabankchile.cl/iniciativa-mujeres.

Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of over 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.3 trillion (as at July 31, 2022), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit scotiabank.com and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

The Scotiabank Women Initiative (SWI)® is an enterprise-wide, signature program designed to increase economic and professional opportunities for our clients and customers who identify as women or non-binary to be successful, now and in the future. This globally expanding, unique offering helps thousands of women pursue their best professional and financial futures by providing unbiased access to capital and tailored solutions, bespoke specialized education, holistic advisory services and mentorship. Whether supporting women to take their careers and businesses further, collaborating with inclusion-focused leaders and companies, providing women-owned and women-led businesses with equitable access to funding or helping women take charge of their finances, The Scotiabank Women Initiative breaks down barriers to empower women to succeed on their own terms. For more information, visit scotiabankwomeninitiative.com.