Canada’s young entrepreneurs are…
A Snapshotof Young Entrepreneurship in Canada
If the idea of a young entrepreneur conjures up a university student launching his or her startup from a dorm room, think again. Canadians in that cohort are focused on coursework and managing high student debt loads. That helps explain why youth entrepreneurship in Canada has held relatively steady for three decades, even as some business conditions (low interest rates, the rise of the intangibles economy) would appear to make starting a business easier than ever.
A small cohort1.7% of all entrepreneurs are under 30
Young Canadians are staying in school longer and shouldering more debt, impeding their ability to start businesses.
In 2016-2017, 497,000 students acquired $2.6 billion in loans
Despite debt accumulation, young entrepreneurs are still more likely to have post-secondary education than the average Canadian.
$2.6billion
1.7%
Entrepreneurs
71.9%
No Post-Secondary Post-Secondary
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Source: Statistics Canada, RBC Economics Research
28.1%
Carolyn Freestone, Economist 416-974-6930 | [email protected]
Credit hungry40% of entrepreneurs under 30 say obtaining financing was an obstacle to business growth.
80% relied on gifts/donations, meaning access to family resources could help.
No Donation/Gifts
Source: Statistics Canada, RBC Economics Research
<30 years old 30 to 39 years old
79.9%
60.5%
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40 to 49 years old 50 to 64 years old 65+ years old
60.5%53% 50.7%
20.1%
39.5% 39.5%47% 49.3%
Donation/Gifts 28% of young entrepreneurs used cloud computing in
2017.
Data savvy
33% of young entrepreneurs used
data analytics in 2017, compared with 18% of those in the 50-64 age
group.
28%33%
Construction Professional, scientific andtechnical services
16.2%181614121086420
Source: Statistics Canada, RBC Economics Research
Agriculture, forestry,fishing and hunting
15.7%
10.5%
Of the SMEs owned/managed by someone under 30…
7.7%the number of young entrepreneurs who abandoned their business in 2016
Which industries are young entrepreneurs working in? Here are the top 3 sectors:
Not diverse
55% are fully
owned bymen
15% are fully
owned bywomen
14% are fully
owned by a visible minority
Budget 2019 allocated
$38 million over 5 years to
Futurpreneur, which supports young entrepreneurs
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