Startup Women
Dedicated to showing up for women all year round, Startup Women is an annual program offering support to early stage women-identifying entrepreneurs across Canada through topic-focused webinars, industry advisory circles, and interactive 1:1 meetings with Startup Women leaders. We know that when you support women, you support a nation.
About Startup Women 2023
How do we do it?
Startup Women stands with women-identifying entrepreneurs to help support their growth and goals. This program is designed for early stage entrepreneurs, giving them the building blocks they’ll need to start and grow the business of their dreams, with guidance from Startup Women leaders to help coach them through their journey. Startup Women is an annual program, providing long-lasting support to women-identifying entrepreneurs across Canada all year long.
What can you expect?
We will provide tools, community, resources, and content to women-identifying entrepreneurs across Canada throughout the year through topic-focused webinars, industry advisory circles, interactive workshops, and 1:1 meetings with Startup Women leaders.
We will also continue the Startup Women Advocacy Network (SWAN) with 13 new early stage women-identifying entrepreneurs from each province and territory. Throughout the year, the SWAN network will share their stories and champion the needs of women entrepreneurs across Canada.
Women-identifying entrepreneurs already face many barriers when starting a business. This free initiative will help to eliminate some of those cost barriers and provide you with the tools to break through others!
Webinars
We will host five topic-focused webinars throughout the year. The topics are geared towards supporting the business development of women-identifying entrepreneurs and give them the tools and know-how to navigate the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey. The panels will include a mix of subject matter experts and late-stage entrepreneurs who will share knowledge gained from their lived experiences. Each topic will engage key figures to ensure attendees can walk away with a greater understanding of the subject.
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Interactive Workshops
Some topics require more time to dive into. These interactive workshops will be hosted by subject matter experts who will provide best practices and actionable takeaways that entrepreneurs can apply to their businesses. These workshops will be closed-door and have limited attendance. Workshops will also feature breakout rooms, giving attendees the opportunity to discuss the topic at hand with the speakers and each other. We encourage all attendees to come ready to engage with each other!
Industry Advisory Circles
Entrepreneurship is not a solo journey. One of our goals at Startup Canada is to connect entrepreneurs with a community to further help them in building a successful business. Industry Advisory Circles will give early stage women-identifying entrepreneurs the chance to connect with and learn from industry experts and later-stage founders in the space, share resources in real-time, and learn about a variety of ecosystem support. Industry Advisory Circles also provide an opportunity to connect with entrepreneurs in your industry and join a larger entrepreneurial community!
Learn moreCreating Change
Startup Women Advocacy Network
To help showcase women from coast to coast to coast, we're continuing our Startup Women Advocacy Network (SWAN) for a second year!
SWAN is a curated group of 13 early stage, woman-identifying entrepreneurs from each province and territory who advocate for women entrepreneurship across Canada. Entrepreneurs come from a breadth of industries and backgrounds.
Startup Women Empowerment Fund
Throughout the year, we will provide 15 support organizations and other ecosystem supporters across Canada with funding to host events, initiatives, and campaigns for women-identifying entrepreneurs. Stay tuned for more details!
1:1 support
Meet 1:1 with Startup Women leaders
Meet with Startup Women leaders as you pave your own entrepreneurial path. Build your network and meet 1:1 with women industry leaders, subject matter experts, and key figures in support organizations who can provide guidance and support in your business development journey.
Interested entrepreneurs can book a 30-minute session with a Startup Women leader to seek guidance from and help navigate their current roadblocks. From fundraising tips, to brand strategy advice, or general business coaching!
How Startup Women Leaders differs from other existing mentoring support: We encourage our community to use this as both a networking opportunity as well as an educational tool. Our intention is to connect you with a variety of leaders you can have 1:1 calls with.
Sessions for 2023 are now closed.
Listen
Startup Women Podcast
As a podcast for women-identifying entrepreneurs, the Startup Women Podcast highlights champions of women economic empowerment within Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Listen to our latest episodes on topics that matter to the growth of women entrepreneurship.
Learn more
Resources
Equip for success
Building a robust hub to guide you through key tools to fuel your business success. We’ve put together a resource guide to connect women entrepreneurs with mentors, funding, training, events, and other programming available to support them locally, regionally, and nationally. Download the guide below.
Stay up to date with Startup Women
Sign up for email notifications about upcoming events, support, or opportunities for women entrepreneurs!
Our program partners
This program would not be possible without the generous support of our partners. We are so happy to be able to continue working with our amazing partners and excited to introduce new partners for 2023.
Co-Presenting Partners
Program Partners
Ecosystem Partners
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, Startup Canada does not offer funding/grants. What we do offer are connections, resources, and tools that can support you in finding the right funding for your business. If you would like to learn more about existing funding opportunities, please contact us at women@startupcan.ca.
We have listed all of our events on our Startup Women events page. You will find all the information on each event and how you can register.
Email us at women@startupcan.ca
Absolutely not! We’ve made sure that every element of the program contains general, high-level key takeaways that can be applied to any industry. However, we understand that context matters. We also offer targeted support depending on your area(s) of interest. We will be hosting 10 Industry Advisory Circles throughout the year facilitated by a subject matter expert with other panellists, followed by an audience Q&A. See which industries we’re covering.
To inquire more about our targeted support, please email women@startupcan.ca
Each program element is open to every aspiring, emerging and/or established entrepreneur, no matter what stage you’re in.
Yes! The Startup Women program is 100% free.
The Startup Women program runs from February 1st to November 30, 2023.