SheBoot, a national non-profit corporation, is taking proactive steps to empower female founders and disrupt the status quo in the venture capital landscape. In August, SheBoot selected 15 Canadian female founders for its fourth annual cohort, providing them with a six-week intensive boot camp to accelerate the growth of their technology startups. The program will culminate in a pitch competition where participants will vie for a total of $300,000 in equity-based investment from 30 women angels.
Despite an increase in women-led businesses in the tech industry, the venture capital landscape remains heavily dominated by men, with women receiving less than three percent of global venture capital funding and only four percent in Canada. SheBoot aims to address this gender funding gap by offering female founders the skills and resources needed to secure funding.
The program is designed by women investors and entrepreneurs for women founders and is funded by a group of women angel investors. It focuses on teaching participants how to raise money and provides them with valuable insights and connections in the industry. By supporting women-led startups, SheBoot aims to catalyze investment in sectors critical to the economy and quality of life, ultimately breaking down barriers that have held women founders back for too long.
Other organizations in Canada, such as ventureLAB’s Tech Undivided program and the federal government’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), are also working to promote gender diversity in the tech sector and provide support for women entrepreneurs. These initiatives are helping women founders grow and scale their businesses and contribute to a more inclusive and equitable tech ecosystem.
By providing women entrepreneurs with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed, SheBoot and similar programs are driving positive change in the tech industry and helping to close the gender funding gap.
