Evolocity Calling For Applications To Women Founders Fund

Female Entrepreneurs Chronically Underfunded

MONTREAL — For the third year in a row, Evolocity Financial Group has increased its contribution to the Women Founders Fund. Today, we call upon female founders of startups in STEM from across Canada to apply for funding.  The Fund gives grants to female entrepreneurs across Canada, so there is no loan to payback and no equity to relinquish.

“Just 4 percent of venture capital investment in this country goes to female-led businesses” said David Souaid, President of Evolocity Financial Group.  “There is a tremendous imbalance in the amount of women working in science and technology, especially as founders. The imbalance of funding allocated to women entrepreneurs in STEM is even greater. We wanted to start a conversation that shines a spotlight on this issue in Canada.”

Some facts about women’s access to capital in Canada:

• Approximately 4 percent VC investment in Canada goes to female-led companies.
• As of 2017, just 5 percent of Canadian tech companies have a female founder working alone and only 13 percent have a female cofounder.
• Women make up only 13 percent of the average tech company’s executive team, and more than half (53 percent) have no female executives at all.²
• 8 percent of directors on boards of Canadian tech companies are women and 73 percent of boards have no women at all.²
• 2/3 of all VC dollars are controlled by investment teams with no women in senior roles at all³

“Any money you can get to keep your business going at an early stage has a major impact” according to 2016 funding recipient Elizabeth Audette-Bourdeau, CEO & Co-Founder of Welbi. “We used it to rent space in an incubator, giving us access to mentors and other vital services.”

Applications for funding are accepted here until August 31. Recipients will be announced at Startup Canada Day on the Hill on Oct. 18, in Ottawa.