October 18, 2018 | Today, Startup Canada and Evolocity Financial Group announced the recipients of the 2018 Startup Canada Women Founders Fund for women entrepreneurs leading STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) businesses. The fund provides micro-grants to women-led companies in Canada to help them start and grow their businesses while accelerating gender parity.
Although women in Canada now represent 47 percent of Canadian business owners and contribute $148 billion in economic activity, they continuously face barriers to accessing capital to start and scale their businesses. This gap is particularly evident when looking at women entrepreneurs in STEM fields.
“While the number of women starting businesses is increasing at double the rate of men, women receive less than 5 per cent of venture capital and regularly face obstacles accessing other types of funding,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO of Startup Canada. “The Startup Canada Women Founders Fund provides opportunities for women to start-up strong and prepare to scale. We look forward to seeing the recipients grow their companies and create meaningful impact in their communities.”
Through the Women Founders Fund, Startup Canada and Evolocity Financial Group aim to alleviate some of the financial barriers women in the STEM industry face when starting and accessing opportunities for business and professional growth. The recipients are funded with grants of up to $5,000 to support business operations or business growth opportunities.
The 2018 Women Founders Fund recipients are:
- iBIONCS, an Ottawa-based health tech company that develops transformative implants for life. Their Diamond Eye is doing for blind people what the COCHLEAR® implant does for the deaf – helping hundreds of thousands of people reignite their senses.
- Mommy Monitor, a Toronto-based, non-clinical maternal health app and service that customizes care by organizing maternal health care services for women through a combination of behavioral analysis, predictive analysis, patient navigation, and case management.
- Pure Strategy, a Saskatoon-based company that creates and deploys AI coworkers into the enterprise so employees can make faster, data-driven decisions.
- Streamline Genomics, a Montreal-based company that provides clinicians with a powerful and user-friendly analysis platform.
- The Growcer, an Ottawa-based company that specializes in the design and manufacturing of food production systems that allow Arctic and Sub-Arctic communities to grow food profitably year-round.
The more than 300 applications from across Canada, were adjudicated by an esteemed Adjudication Committee, including Maayan Ziv the CEO of Access Now, Kerlande Mibel the Founder of International Black Economic Forum, Sunshine Tenasco the Founder of Pow Wow Pitch, Katrina Caroll Foster CEO the CEO of Kollectively, and Tara Barnes, the Vice President of Marketing of Manitobah Mukluks.
“I was so impressed with the quality of the applicant’s ideas and as an entrepreneur, I find myself inspired by them,” said David Souaid, Co-Founder and President of Evolocity Financial Group. “They expressed such a spirit of innovation, disruption, and ultimately the desire to help others through their businesses. So, although the decision was a difficult one, I know I speak for all of us when I say that we are excited to be able to help these entrepreneurs push their start-up businesses to new levels.”
The Women Founders Fund is a joint initiative between Startup Canada and Evolocity Financial Group. For almost a decade, Evolocity Financial Group has worked with entrepreneurs in Canada by providing them with access to capital through their Financing Programs. Together, the organizations hope to empower women entrepreneurs and drive awareness of the importance of women in business.
For more information, contact:
Maddie Stiles
Communications, and Media Relations
Startup Canada
Maddie.stiles@startupcan.ca
613-627-0787 ext. 105
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is the national rallying community and voice for Canada’s 2.3 million entrepreneurs. Since launching in 2012, Startup Canada has grown to represent more than 200,000 entrepreneurs and 50 grassroots communities from coast to coast to coast. Through digital programs and flagship events, Startup Canada is the network promoting, inspiring, educating, connecting and giving a voice to Canada’s entrepreneurs; supporting them to start, operate and scale businesses that build a better Canada for the world today and for future generations. For more information, visit startupcan.ca.
About Evolocity Financial Group
Evolocity Financial Group is a Canadian owned and operated company. With an experienced management team who have been in the finance industry for over 25 years, they understand the capital needs of your small-medium sized business. Evolocity Financial Group will collaborate with you to evaluate your unique financial situation and tailor their services accordingly. Their technology-driven solution provides your business with transparent access to growth capital – quickly. For more information, visit evolocity.ca