Startup Women
Dedicated to showing up for women year-round, Startup Women is an annual program offering support to early-stage women-identifying entrepreneurs across Canada. We know that when you support women, you support a nation. Scroll to see what we got up to in 2025!
About Startup Women
What is it?
Startup Women empowers women-identifying entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and achieve their boldest goals. Through expert-led webinars, intimate industry roundtables, hands-on workshops, community events, and direct access to program leaders, founders gain the guidance and connections that matter most in the early stages. This free program connects you with ecosystem leaders and fellow entrepreneurs who understand your journey. Startup Women welcomes all women, including trans women.
What can you expect?
Startup Women will be back in 2026 with programming built around what you told us you need most: expert guidance, real connections, and practical tools to move your business forward.
Expect focused webinars that deliver insights you can use immediately. Intimate roundtables where honest conversations happen. Workshops that build skills, not just theory. Community events that turn networking into genuine relationships. And direct access to leaders who’ve been where you are and want to help you succeed.
Every session. Every connection. Designed for women-identifying entrepreneurs who are ready to grow!
Mark your calendars, our full 2026 schedule will be announced in early February 2026.
Overview of the 2025 Startup Women Program
Throughout 2025, Startup Canada hosted several webinars, industry roundtables, in-person mentoring opportunities, and community events focused on supporting and celebrating women-identifying entrepreneurs.
This program continually aims to support entrepreneurs through:
- Connecting women-identifying entrepreneurs directly to women-focused support organizations nationally, as well as seasoned entrepreneurs to learn from.
- Providing education, coaching and networking opportunities virtually and in person.
- Advocating for women in business and their needs through storytelling.
Webinars
Our 2025 Startup Women webinar series delivered practical, expert-led sessions on the topics women entrepreneurs need most. Founders learned how to navigate pre-revenue grant opportunities and craft winning proposals, understand the investor mindset and build compelling pitches, create financial projections and manage cash flow strategically, and develop customer acquisition tactics that move beyond friends and family networks. Each session equipped participants with immediately applicable tools and connected them with experts who understand the unique challenges women founders face.
Register for a webinar
Industry Roundtables
Our industry roundtable sessions brought women founders together for honest, sector-specific conversations in closed-door virtual spaces. Entrepreneurs gained insights from late-stage founders who've built successful businesses in their industries, engaged in candid panel discussions with support organizations that understand their challenges, and connected with peers across Canada facing similar hurdles. These intimate sessions transformed isolation into community and provided the support every entrepreneur needs to move forward with confidence.
Register for an Industry Roundtable
Startup Women Empowerment Fund
Thank you to our partners, Volition, Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada, TOAST, and FemTech Canada & Cap Inclusive for helping us deliver five events, with 1,234 attendees, with in-depth sessions that supported business development and the skill sets of the women-identifying entrepreneurs in attendance.
Meetings with Startup Women Leaders
Connecting with women-identifying leaders excelling in their industries, subject-matter experts, and key figures from support organizations has remained at the heart of this initiative, ensuring entrepreneurs receive guidance rooted in real experience. This year, that commitment came to life as we connected approximately 100 mentees with 60 mentors in person across our two Startup Canada Tour stops in Calgary, AB, and Mississauga, ON.
Resources
Equip for success
We built a robust hub to guide you through key tools to fuel your business success. We compiled a resource guide to connect women-identifying entrepreneurs with funding, training, events, and other programming available to support them locally, regionally, and nationally.
Download the Guide
Listen
Startup Women Podcast
As a podcast for women-identifying entrepreneurs, the Startup Women Podcast highlights champions of women's economic empowerment year-round across Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Listen to our latest episodes on topics that matter to the growth of women's entrepreneurship!
Learn moreStay up to date with Startup Women
Sign up for email notifications to be the first to know when Startup Women 2026 launches!
Join the listThank you to our 2025 program partners
The 2025 Startup Women program would not have been possible without the generous support of our partners. We are so happy to be able to continue working with our amazing partners! Stay tuned for who’s coming on board in 2026.
Co-Presenting Partners
Community Partners
Ecosystem Partners
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Each program element is open to every aspiring, emerging and/or established entrepreneur, no matter what stage you’re in.
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 Roundtables throughout the year facilitated by a subject matter expert with other panelists, followed by an audience Q&A and networking breakout rooms. See which industries we’re covering.
To inquire more about our targeted support, please email women@startupcan.ca
All virtual events of the Startup Women program are 100% free. In-person events will be ticketed, prices have been chosen to keep the event as accessible as possible to early stage entrepreneurs.
The Startup Women program runs from February to November 2025.
These meetings will take place at each of the 2 stops of the 2025 Startup Canada Tour. This year, the Startup Canada Tour will be stopping in:
- Calgary, AB on Tuesday, April 29
- Mississauga, ON on Tuesday, October 21
To register to attend any of these events, please visit the Startup Canada Tour webpage.
You can email us your biography and information on your experience at women@startupcan.ca
You register for any and all 2025 Startup Women events here.
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, the Startup Women Resource Guide includes grants and funding opportunities available to women.
Email us at women@startupcan.ca