New investment to increase access to financial resources and support the economic empowerment of new Canadians

As social innovators and funders from across Canada gather for the Social Finance Forum in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, WUSC is pleased to announce one of our own most recent social impact investments. 

WUSC’s agenda has grown over the years as we have matured as an organization and young people’s needs and opportunities have evolved. This said, enabling access to education and work for marginalized youth, especially those experiencing displacement, has remained a priority area of focus both in Canada through our Student Refugee Program and overseas through our partnerships.

Even as our mission has remained constant, the tools that we use to accomplish our mission have changed considerably. A number of years ago, we began to ask ourselves how WUSC could better mobilize financial resources, including our own modest reserves and resources managed by others, to invest in initiatives that support young people. We have documented some of this learning and shared with others, particularly as we have explored how finance can support gender equality, and how climate finance can become more equal.

In 2019, WUSC made its first direct investment into Brighter Investment, a Ghanaian-Canadian social enterprise that provides financing for talented young people in Ghana to pursue higher education. Our goal with this investment was to explore how private finance can enable access to education and training, while  ensuring that young women are also able to benefit from these opportunities.

Building on these lessons, we are pleased to announce our most recent investment. In December of 2023, WUSC completed the purchase of a $100,000 Social Bond from Windmill Microlending, a Toronto-based social enterprise whose mission is closely aligned with WUSC. Windmill provides unsecured loans to new Canadians to enable them to invest in skills upgrading or entrepreneurship. They also offer coaching and training services on areas such as career planning, new immigrant success strategies and business development. Along with WUSC, Windmill is also a partner in the Government of Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot, which supports refugees to migrate to Canada through direct linkages with employers.

Our investments are small relative to other major foundations or impact investments, but we are excited to broaden our toolkit for development impact, and mobilize more of our resources. Although the Bond will provide a small return, the goal is to achieve impact, build new partnerships, and promote learning while preserving our existing financial reserves. Our plan is to continue to grow a small portfolio of mission-aligned investments that support young people, both in Canada and overseas.

For more information please contact:

Ariane Ryan, Director of Program Design and Social Finance

[email protected]