When WeBC set out to expand its impact across Canada, it knew its training model had to evolve. In-person workshops and live webinars were valuable—but they limited reach, increased administrative burden, and created barriers for the busy entrepreneurs WeBC serves. Partnering with Spark + Co., WeBC transformed its programs into a scalable, engaging, bilingual on-demand elearning training built in Canada. The result: practical, high-impact elearning courses that meet women entrepreneurs where they are—while expanding access, improving consistency, and supporting long-term growth.
WeBC – Empowering Women Entrepreneurs
Funded by Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) and the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy, WeBC empowers all self-identifying women entrepreneurs as key drivers of Canada’s economy. For over 30 years, they’ve helped women business owners start, grow, and lead enterprises that fuel innovation, create jobs, and strengthen communities. Despite their immense economic potential, systemic barriers still limit access to capital and resources. WeBC exists to change that. Through tailored financing, mentorship, business support, and elearning training, they equip women entrepreneurs to fully participate in and shape Canada’s economic future.
WeBC engaged Spark + Co. as its partner to develop its elearning training program. At Spark + Co, we are at the forefront of custom elearning development and online courses, proudly serving a diverse clientele since 2007. We are a Canadian corporation serving nearly 100 clients across North America.
Organizational Elearning Training Needs And Challenges
In 2023, WeBC had several elearning training-related needs and challenges. Their training programs consisted of in-person workshops and webinars, each with its own challenges. The in-person workshops were administratively intensive to organize and run, and were limited in terms of the number of participants and the geographical reach. As well, these workshops were expensive due to travel and accommodation for participants to attend, and inconvenient and time-consuming for extremely busy entrepreneurs. While webinars addressed some of these challenges, they were limited in their instructional value, and scheduling and producing them were an administrative burden.
So WeBC decided to move to on-demand e-learning training, which would
- Be highly convenient and less burdensome for the participants
- Reduce the travel costs for participants
- Reduce the administrative burden and logistics for WeBC
- Expand the number of participants able to take the elearning training
- Expand the geographical reach of the elearning courses
- Deliver quality, consistent, engaging, and interactive elearning training experiences
The Elearning Training Solution For WeBC
As WeBC hadn’t used elearning training before, a major initial component was to determine the hosting platform for their courses. After some review and discussion, we selected Thinkific as the platform to host and manage their elearning training. Thinkific is an excellent software platform that helps organizations create, market, sell, and deliver their Thinkific courses. It is used by organizations in 190 countries, with over 200 million learners taking courses on the platform, generating to date over $3.7 billion for organizations such as WeBC.
Between 2023 and 2025, Spark + Co. set-up the Thinkific Site for WeBC and designed 6 elearning courses. A 7th elearning training course is due for release in mid-2026. The initial elearning courses were created by converting existing content (in-person workshops or webinars) into on-demand elearning training. The subsequent elearning courses were created from scratch, with new content developed as part of the process.
The programs to date are
- HR for Small Business
- Financial Fitness
- Mastering Business Operations
- Strategic Marketing
- Market Research
- Business Viability, and
- Mentoring
We designed the elearning training to be interactive and highly engaging, providing practical training for busy Women Entrepreneurs while also appealing to a broader audience.
Constraints Overcome During The Process
During any project, there are constraints that need to be overcome. For the elearning training developed for WeBC, the following were some of the constraints overcome along the way.
- Strict Funding Requirements – As funding for many elearning courses was provided by grants, strict deadlines had to be met to report on performance to the funder.
- Workbook Content – In the first few courses, the content for the elearning courses was developed from existing workbooks. As the participants were still going to receive the workbooks, we spent a lot of time modifying the workbook content for the elearning training. The workbooks had to support the elearning training content and not duplicate the elearning courses. As a result, we designed many new activities and exercises for the elearning training portion.
- Branding + Integrations – WeBC wanted the hosting platform to be an extension of their website, rather than a disconnected entity. Branding and integration of the Thinkific platform with their existing website were key. For example, instead of using the native Thinkific commerce package, we used a WooCommerce integration on the website so all e-commerce is performed on the WeBC website.
- Additional Content Development – Along the way, WeBC realized they also needed to create additional content for their elearning training courses. The content they had from their in-person and webinar sessions wasn’t sufficient on its own to meet the instructional rigour required for an elearning course. So they contracted a subject-matter expert to develop the additional content on their behalf.
- Multilingual Elearning Courses – We created all the elearning courses completed to date in English and French. While creating multilingual courses is not a problem, it does add both cost and additional time to the project, which we factored into the original project planning.
Unique + Engaging Aspects Of The Elearning Training
Some unique and engaging aspects specifically created for the WeBC elearning training included
Storytelling – To enhance the elearning training and make it markedly different from the workbook content for the initial courses, we created a number of short stories narrated by a storyteller throughout the elearning courses. The storyteller would share her real-life experiences at key points in the elearning training.
For some of the latter courses, we expanded this to include multiple storytellers, which added diversity and variety and further increased engagement. As well, for one interaction, we created a Q&A podcast as part of the elearning training course.
The stories we wrote were intended to reflect the realistic experience that our audience had with our subject matter. We wrote them in 1st person, using authentic conversational language (including slang, sighs, laughter, etc.). We used challenges, failures, successes, aha moments, emotional impact and other aspects to convey that all entrepreneurs are human and aren’t perfect.
Thinkific Integrations – We seamlessly integrated several external service integrations into the Thinkific site and the elearning courses. For instance, participants can book a meeting directly with advisors/experts in specific business areas while completing the training. A second example was the creation of an extensive resource library, which participants have access to during and after completing the courses.
Pilot Testing – For each course, Spark + Co. created a version, then tested it with a pilot group comprising WeBC members and potential course participants. These sessions provided extremely valuable feedback and resulted in new frameworks, models and multimedia that made the course more engaging and actionable for the participants. WeBC early on saw the value of the modest additional cost and time required, and how they affected the ultimate instructional product outcomes.
Outcomes of the Elearning Training Project
There were many successful outcomes from the initial project in early 2023 to set up the Thinkific hosting platform and convert one HR course for Small Business, including the following.
Funder Success + Expansion
Following the success of the initial elearning training on HR for Small Business, WeBC secured additional funding in multiple tranches for the subsequent six elearning courses.
“Thank you for the final edits and congratulations for completing another awesome course! I really appreciate the hard work put into this course to make it engaging, valuable and beautiful while working under tight timeline and finishing before the deadline!! Developing 3 courses in 2 languages within less than 1 year has not been easy and I’m so proud of the courses we created.”
WeBC
WeBC Elearning Training Objectives
WeBC successfully met its elearning training objectives, including
- Creation of an elearning training program that reduced their organizational administrative burden, but more importantly, was highly convenient for their target audience of busy entrepreneurs
- Expansion of the training programs to a larger audience and with a much broader geographical reach
- Feedback from participants in the new elearning training programs emphatically shows that the goals of delivering quality, consistent, engaging, and interactive training experiences were exceeded
“In every course we created with you, I’m always amazed by the vision and imagination for transforming the live course materials into the e-learning 😊”
WeBC
Applied Business Skills For Entrepreneurs
Each of the elearning courses led to tangible, practical outcomes that are directly applicable to the participants’ business. Examples of some of these tangible outcomes include
- Strategic Marketing: creating a complete marketing plan with defined target customers and messaging strategy.
- Financial Fitness: understanding and applying financial concepts to achieve improved financial decision-making and planning.
- Market Research: completing primary and secondary research plans with insights to inform product/service positioning.
- Business Operations: defining business goals, documenting processes and a one-year operational plan to track growth.
- HR for Small Business: building hiring and retention strategies and applying leadership practices to real-world staffing needs.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Why did WeBC transition from in-person workshops and webinars to on-demand elearning training?
WeBC wanted to reduce administrative burden, eliminate travel barriers, and expand access to training for busy entrepreneurs across Canada. On-demand elearning provided flexibility, scalability, and consistent instructional quality—without the logistical constraints of live delivery.
2. What platform was used to host the elearning courses?
After reviewing options, WeBC selected Thinkific as the hosting platform. Spark + Co. set up and customized the Thinkific site to integrate seamlessly with WeBC’s existing website and branding.
3. How many courses were developed?
Between 2023 and 2025, Spark + Co. designed and developed six elearning courses, with a seventh scheduled for release in 2026. Courses were created both by converting existing workshops and by developing new content from scratch.
4. Were the elearning courses created in multiple languages?
Yes. Spark + Co. developed all the elearning courses in both English and French to ensure accessibility and national reach. Multilingual development was built into the project timeline and planning from the start.
5. How was the elearning training made more engaging?
The courses we designed were to be interactive and practical. Unique elements included:
- Storytelling segments narrated by real entrepreneurs
- Multiple storyteller perspectives for diversity and engagement
- A Q&A podcast component
- Integrated booking tools to connect learners directly with advisors
- A resource library accessible during and after course completion
We piloted each course with a test group to gather feedback and refine the experience before launch.
6. What challenges were addressed during the elearning training development?
Key constraints included:
- Strict grant funding deadlines
- Adapting workbook content to avoid duplication
- Ensuring strong instructional design when developing new material
- Branding and integration requirements
- Managing bilingual production timelines
Spark + Co. addressed each challenge through proactive planning, collaboration, and iterative testing.
7. What were the outcomes of this elearning training project?
This elearning training project delivered measurable success:
- Reduced administrative burden for WeBC
- Expanded geographic reach and participant access
- Secured additional funding for future course development
- Strong participant feedback on engagement and instructional quality
The shift to elearning courses allowed WeBC to scale its impact while maintaining program integrity.
8. Who are these courses designed for?
The primary audience is self-identifying women entrepreneurs across Canada. However, the practical business skills covered—HR, finance, marketing, operations, market research, and mentoring—make the programs valuable to a broader entrepreneurial audience as well.
