Québec City, September 15, 2021. Today Femmessor unveiled its new name and brand identity. The organization, which has been operating in entrepreneurship for over 25 years, has adopted the name Evol.
These changes come within a few months of the organization announcing the expansion of its mandate and the creation of a new budget envelope to support businesses with diversified, inclusive ownership that have a positive impact on society.
“Femmessor is continuing to evolve, and with Evol, we have found a name that captures our ambition, which is to transform the economy to make it more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable,” said Sévrine Labelle, CEO of Femmessor, now Evol. With our signature, “financing change,” our organization is giving voice to its desire to contribute to the creation, growth, and acquisition of businesses managed and owned by entrepreneurs who represent the multiplicity of faces in our society and that offer different, innovative, and above all, more conscious business models.”
The announcement was made this morning on Facebook by Sévrine Labelle, accompanied by Evol spokesperson, Danièle Henkel, and Chris Bergeron, VP, Inclusive Creativity at the agency Cossette, which developed the new brand identity.
“By choosing to support diversified, inclusive businesses that generate a lasting, positive impact, Evol is clearly positioning itself as an agent of change,” said Chris Bergeron, VP Inclusive Creativity at Cossette. “Its desire to advance society in a positive direction through three priorities – the economy, ecology, and equity – provided a lot of inspiration. We came up with a word that spotlights Evol’s commitment: inspire local entrepreneurs and support them in their evolution.”
The name Evol draws from the terms evolution and envol, French for taking flight. The logo on an ascending grade is a great illustration of the fact that the support Evol offers enables entrepreneurs to lift themselves up. The colour red suggests the passion of entrepreneurs.
“This new name effectively conveys the organization’s commitment to support entrepreneurs in their evolution and enable them to participate in our economy in a fair, equitable way,” said Danièle Henkel, spokesperson for Femmessor, now Evol. “With its new budget envelope and with its team’s extensive expertise, Evol has what it takes to contribute to fulfilling the entrepreneurial potential of Quebec. I wish Femmessor all the best in this new chapter.”
Since its first public financing in 2001, Femmessor granted $31 million to 1,200 businesses owned by women, generating $185 million in investment returns and enabling the creation and maintenance of 6,035 jobs. Over the years, 75,000 entrepreneurs have been impacted by the organization’s efforts.
About Evol
Operating in Quebec’s 17 regions, Evol (formerly Femmessor) is an organization financially supported by the Ministère de l’Économie, de l’Innovation et de l’Énergie (MEIE) and the Government of Canada through its Women Entrepreneurship Strategy. Evol’s mission is to contribute directly to the creation, growth and acquisition of diversified, inclusive businesses that have a positive impact on society.
Its financing offer, combined with a personalized mentoring experience and adapted complementary services, enables entrepreneurs to build sustainable, prosperous businesses.
Through partnerships with the Government of Québec (with Investissement Québec as agent), National Bank, BDC, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and Fondaction, Evol offers financing and mentoring to businesses with diversified, inclusive ownership that generate positive impacts in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Media contact:
Véronique Dargis
1 844 523-7767, ext. 213
v.dargis@evol.ca
For more information about Evol: evol.ca
