Waterloo Region gets investment for women-led biz

Communitech Corp., an innovation hub located in the Waterloo Region, has received a non-repayable contribution of up to $880,000 to support women-led businesses.

Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Bardish Chagger (2nd from right), announced that Communitech will receive $880,000 to support women entrepreneurs in the Waterloo Region.

Supporting women-led businesses helps to diversify not only the technology sector, but the southern Ontario economy as a whole, according to Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Ontario. With this funding, Communitech will establish the Fierce Founders Accelerator program, a seed funding program designed to support women-led early-stage businesses.

“Women play an integral role in the success of businesses. Today’s announcement is a great example of the Government of Canada’s commitment to supporting women in business while encouraging innovation and creativity in the technology sector,” says Chagger.

Fierce Founders Accelerator program

One of the first of its kind in the Waterloo area, the Fierce Founders Accelerator program will help increase representation of women in the technology sector and enhance the technology cluster in the Waterloo Region, which accounts for approximately 10% of the region’s workforce.

For more information on this project funded through FedDev Ontario’s Investing in Business Innovation initiative, please see the backgrounder.

“Diverse companies are proven to be more successful. Women make up 30% of students entering engineering programs at the University of Waterloo, and it’s continuing to rise,” says Iain Klugman, president and CEO, Communitech. “There’s no reason why we can’t see the same amount of women staring companies here. This program is one extra step to encourage that.”