Government of Canada announces funding to improve economic and leadership opportunities for Black and equality-seeking women entrepreneurs Français

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Women and Gender Equality Canada

Aug 13, 2024, 12:08 ET

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2024 /CNW/ - When women and girls fully participate in Canada's economic, social, and political life, the whole country wins. Ultimately, empowering women and minority entrepreneurs will ignite economic potential, innovation, and inclusivity all across Canada. However, women continue to face systemic barriers that limit their progress and advancement.

Today, the Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, announced $530,000 for Pitch Better Inc. to improve economic and leadership opportunities for Black and equality-seeking women entrepreneurs.

This funding will support the FoundHers Labs Venture Studio, an innovative project aimed at fostering women's entrepreneurship and advancing gender equality in the business sector, including startups in e-commerce, healthtech, fintech, edtech, AI and machine learning, and cleantech. FoundHers Labs Venture Studio focuses on addressing the unique challenges faced by Black and equity-seeking women entrepreneurs by providing support through research, network engagement, financing, education and capacity building. In doing so, FoundHers Labs is poised to stimulate economic growth and create jobs that will directly benefit Black women and their communities.

Through funding and other support, the Government of Canada is working to create systemic change by addressing gender norms and attitudes, ensuring women are part of the dialogue and solutions, increasing networks and collaboration, encouraging more effective and equitable sharing of resources, and improving policies and practices.

Quotes

"Black and equity-seeking women are some of Canada's most creative, resourceful and capable assets – but the business ecosystem in Canada does not always include them to their fullest capacity. Through the FoundHers Labs Venture Studio project, federal funding will allow Pitch Better Inc. to ignite economic potential and innovation and advance inclusivity by addressing barriers to gender equality faced by Black and equity seeking women in the tech industry. The future of Canada depends on diverse and inclusive homegrown innovation, and opening doors for all Canadians to participate is a priority for the Government of Canada and our country."

The Honourable Marci Ien, Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth

"With funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada, I'm thrilled with this support of FoundHers Labs Venture Studio by Pitch Better Inc. This project empowers Black and equity-seeking women entrepreneurs, providing the support they need to break into the tech industry, including areas like e-commerce, healthtech, and AI. This investment will help make our tech sector more diverse and inclusive. By unlocking this potential, we're fostering innovation and making Canada richer and fairer for everyone. I'm excited to see the businesses that will emerge from this program and the positive impact it will have not only in Etobicoke-Lakeshore but also across Canada."

James Maloney, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke-Lakeshore 

"FoundHers Labs represents a crucial step in empowering diverse women entrepreneurs across Canada. Our 2021 research revealed that 90% of Black women founders have never joined an accelerator or business program, and only 3.3% of Black entrepreneurs participate in the tech and innovation industry. We're here to change those statistics. We're excited to work with a select group of high-potential entrepreneurs. Our goal is to not only support individual businesses but to contribute to Canada's position as a leader in innovation and technology on the global stage." 

Amoye Henry, General Partner at FoundHers Labs 

"I've seen many accelerator programs for everyone and it's important to create important avenues for more Black and diverse women founders to take part in the venture capital conversation."  

Alisha Golden, Investor, TechStars

Quick facts

  • Women's wages have grown steadily since the 1990s, but disparities persist. In 2023, women in Canada earned 88 cents for every dollar earned by men, suggesting a gap of 12%.
  • The Women's Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund is an investment of up to $100 million which will allow recipient organizations to launch new projects or scale up past projects that change systems to increase women and girls' economic security and prosperity, as well as their representation in leadership and decision-making roles.

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Contacts: Carolyn Svonkin, Director of Communications, Office of the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, [email protected]; Media Relations, Women and Gender Equality Canada, 819-420-6530, [email protected]

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Women and Gender Equality Canada