October 19, 2017 | Startup Canada, the national rallying community for Canadian entrepreneurs, announced today in partnership with Evolocity Financial Group that Jessica Ching, Diane Matyas, Eloise Ambursley and Andrea Palmer are the recipients of the 2017 Startup Canada Women Founders Fund. The Fund provides micro-grants to women entrepreneurs and women-led companies in Canada to help them start and grow their businesses.
The Fund provides women entrepreneurs with support to access growth opportunities, new markets, and to build competencies that enable immediate growth and expansion.
“We are honoured to announce the 2017 recipients of the Startup Canada Women’s Founders Fund,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO and Co-Founder of Startup Canada. “The number of women starting up businesses in Canada is increasing at double the rate of men, however women continue to face obstacles in accessing funding. This Fund allows women to start-up strong and scalable businesses, and we look forward to seeing the impact their businesses have on Canada and the world.”
“The sheer level of thoughtful and socially responsible innovation in this year’s pool of applicants has been beyond impressive,” said David Souaid, President and Co-Founder of Evolocity Financial Group. “We reviewed many forward-thinking proposals centered around health, wellness, and the environment that it just further reinforces why supporting the startup ecosystem is so vital. I am inspired by these women and their passion for developing businesses and future technologies that will go on to shape our society for the better, both at the community level and beyond.”
“Billenial is honoured to have been selected a recipient for the 2017 Woman Founders Fund,” said Eloise Ambursley, CEO and Co-Founder of Billenial. ”It’s amazing that there is a Fund specifically for women-led companies! With this grant, we’re grateful for the opportunity to get one step closer towards helping Millennials conquer their debt, manage their finances, and prioritize their life goals.”
“I am delighted to be a recipient of the Women Founders Fund grant,” said Andrea Palmer, CEO of Awake Labs. “The grant will be used to help me travel to establish key partnerships with service providers and fundraise to further our mission of building technology to empower care for brain and mental health disorders.”
“Thank you for selecting SportFitz as a recipient of the Women’s Founders Fund,” said Diane Matyas, “We will use this grant to help us with the launch our concussion management solution.”
“It’s wonderful to see Startup Canada supporting female entrepreneurs through initiatives like the Female Founders Fund,” said Jessica Ching, Co-Founder and CEO of Eve Medical. “We’re grateful to be a recipient, which will help us launch our next product.”
Recipients of this Fund were announced at Startup Canada Day on the Hill in Ottawa. Startup Canada Day on the Hill is Canada’s largest national entrepreneurship event convening leading entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, industry executives, and government representatives annually to raise the bar for Canada as a globally competitive innovation nation.
This is the second consecutive year that Evolocity Financial Group has partnered with Startup Canada on the Women Founders Fund. 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 are empowering women entrepreneurs and are driving awareness of the importance of women in business.
For more information please contact:
Lindsay Bright
Marketing, Communications and Digital Production Administrator
lindsay.bright@startupcan.ca
613-627-0787 ext. 101
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is the leading national social enterprise supporting and giving a voice to entrepreneurs through online programs, national awards, flagship events, and partnerships with private sector and government to foster a community for startup and small business success across the country. For more information, visit www.startupcan.ca.
About Evolocity Financial Group
Evolocity Financial Group offers fast and flexible financing solutions to small and medium-sized Canadian businesses. With a simple online application process, Evolocity Financial Group is focused on SME merchants and is a great source of growth capital, quickly. A Canadian company, Evolocity understands the unique cash flow demands affecting small businesses and has developed an innovative approach to SME financing.