Katherine Regnier to Receive 2020 WESK Celebration of Achievement Award

By Suchet Randhawa - Sep 30, 2020

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan (WESK) recently honoured Coconut Founder and CEO Katherine Regnier, with the WESK Celebration of Achievement Award. Katherine was formally presented with the award at WESK’s 25th Anniversary Awards Gala, presented by Conexus Credit Union in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on September 30th, 2020.

The Celebration of Achievement Award pays tribute to an exceptional female entrepreneur who has built a business in Saskatchewan with a significant impact on the economy and the community. This entrepreneur is an inspirational leader and a role model for women in business. Katherine is the third Celebration of Achievement recipient, preceded by Rachel Mielke in 2018, and Jess Tetu in 2019.

Check out her acceptance speech:

“When I started this journey, I didn’t know how hard the mountain would be to climb. I didn’t realize how much support, encouragement, and helping hands I would need to keep going. And last but not least, I didn’t foresee being a role model to other women entrepreneurs or being noted as one of the few women leading a tech company in Canada. But what I do know now, is that it takes a community to come this far, and I feel so privileged to be receiving this award from WESK’s collection of strong women right here at home” – Katherine Regnier

At 3-months pregnant, Katherine quit her full-time job focus solely on Coconut Software. After five years of bootstrapping her company to over $1M in sales, Katherine decided to seek venture capital funds. To date, Katherine has successfully raised $4.9M and has grown her team to over 50 employees. Her success has helped to put Canada on the map with investors across North America.

Katherine is passionate about giving back to the community and is a strong advocate for entrepreneurs and women in technology. She is a founding board member of Co.Labs, Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator and hosted the very first Prairie Investment Forum (PIF), which was a celebration of technology and investment in the Prairies.

In addition to the Celebration of Achievement Award, WESK is excited to be highlighting other female business leaders in the province as part of the Jewels of Saskatchewan Panel at their 25th Anniversary Awards Gala. Panelists include Jess Tetu, Krista Moe, and Devon Fiddler.

WESK CEO Prabha Mitchell states, “The achievements of women entrepreneurs and leaders who are making an extraordinary impact here at home and globally deserves celebration and recognition. The 25th Anniversary Awards Gala is a celebration of exactly that.”

“We would like to thank our sponsors of this event and those who have been strong supporters of our vision and mission” stated Mitchell.

About WESK

Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan’s (WESK) vision is for all Saskatchewan entrepreneurs to have an equal opportunity to achieve success and recognition. Entrepreneurship is a catalyst for independence, economic development, employment, growth, innovation, and equality. For 25 years, WESK has worked with hundreds of women, helping them start, purchase, and expand businesses. WESK is a non-profit, membership-based organization that provides business advisory and support services; start-up, purchase and expansion lending; mentoring and networking, and a variety of learning opportunities from seminars and webinars to events. Since 1995, WESK has provided more than $37 million in loans and professional advice to women across the province. Together, women entrepreneurs and WESK have shaped and enhanced the Saskatchewan economy. WESK is supported by the Western Economic Diversification Canada.

About Coconut Software

Coconut Software is a leading provider of customer engagement solutions for modern banks and credit unions. By providing technology that elevates the customer experience while improving operational efficiencies, Coconut’s solutions consistently increase satisfaction scores, decrease churn, and strengthen acquisition.