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.
Associated links
- Pitch Better Inc
- Women and Gender Equality Canada, Women's Program
- Calls for proposals: About this calls for proposals
- Government of Canada launches
two new Calls for Proposals to strengthen gender equality -
Canada.ca
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SOURCE Women and Gender Equality Canada