$2.3 million Federal funding provided to ELEVATE & The Firehood to develop Female Leaders

Two eight-week interconnected seminars on investment and entrepreneurship for women have been established by Elevate and The Firehood on 26^th June, 2023.

The Women + Entrepreneur Incubator will prepare businesses to pitch for a $100,000 cash investment award at Elevate Festival, while the Women + Investor Incubator will educate ambitious women and gender-diverse angel investors to the world of startup financing. The female business owners will pitch the female investors for the prize at the conclusion of the two programmes.

The Firehood is an angel-stage fund and network devoted to women in technology. "We're looking for early-stage women and gender-diverse entrepreneurs who are building tech solutions that have the potential to scale globally," stated co-founder Danielle Graham. The two programmes are presently accepting applications through July 5.

Three cohorts will run simultaneously from August/September 2023 through April/May 2024 and August/September 2024, with each concluding in the founders' presentations to angel investors. After the pitch, the angel programme continues to assist the deals with due diligence.

The federal government's WES equitable Women Capital Initiative, which offers funds over two years to develop and establish a more equitable venture capital ecosystem for Canadian women, provided the $2.3 million for the two seminars.

As she presented the funds to Elevate and The Firehood, Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade of Canada, said: "The full and equal participation of women in the economy is not just the right thing to do; it's the smart thing to do. By supporting programmes that open doors for female entrepreneurs, we want to increase funding for female-founded businesses and the presence of women in the investment ecosystem."

When it comes to getting the crucial resources they need for the development of their professions, enterprises, and overall wealth and success, women investors and entrepreneurs both encounter disproportionate impediments. According to a news release from the federal government regarding the initiatives, women founders and entrepreneurs make up 40% of firm owners but only earn 3% of VC funding.

In May and June, The Firehood also performed a cross-country tour from Vancouver to St. John's. Early-stage female entrepreneurs and angel investors were brought together during the trip so they could expand their networks, get knowledge from industry leaders, and network with investors. At each location on the trip, the partners in Canada's entrepreneurial ecosystem were introduced, including representatives from the government, the commercial sector, accelerators, incubators, nonprofit organisations, and financial institutions.