A weekly brief for women founders on the funding, ideas, opportunities, trends and conversations shaping the Canadian entrepreneurship landscape.
It will be brief.
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💰Funding Brief Grants: Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund 2026: The government is investing $100 million in expanding women’s leadership, increasing opportunities in non-traditional fields, like STEM and the skilled trades, and helping women navigate and shape an AI-driven economy, which will build a stronger and more competitive Canada.
Even if you’re not eligible to apply, organizations receiving this funding will deliver programs, mentorship and training for women founders. It’s worth watching which organizations receive funding.
💸Funding Beyond Grants: There are always opportunities for founders to apply to micro-financing or small loans to start a business.
- The government opened up the Women Entrepreneurship Loan fund again. You can apply for a loan of up to $50,000 if you’re eligible. Like most lenders, they do check your personal credit to assess your application. But the interest on those loans are usually lower than the average bank loan.
- Some of my favourite micro financing options are through credit unions. Alterna Savings is one of them. Check out their micro-financing loans here, or if you’re a woman founder in our ecosystem, reach out for an introduction to the Alterna team.
- If you’re between 18-39 years old, you may qualify for a loan from Futurpreneur. It’s a good option for starter loan as well, and they will connect you with a mentor to support your business.
🤖What’s happening in AI & Tech? The Wall Street Journal recently published an article about how Generative AI is steamrolling through SaaS platforms. How can software companies continue to provide value to users without AI rendering them obsolete?
Becoming Essential: software products need to go beyond being an attractive interface that supports. I’m learning SaaS, even with AI integration, needs to become essential in order for people and businesses to abandon their patchwork of tools.
AI agents are now being used to book meetings, automate workflows, manage productivity, compare supplier costs, create a business roadmap for you, find sales and partnership opportunities, and so much more.
For us entrepreneurs, it begs the question: what happens when our customers are no longer using Google to find our business?
📰In the News
Check out this story by entrepreneur Namunswa Alma Daiz in Uganda building her company “Mommy Gadgets” and transforming educational tech in her country.
Have you also heard that Canada’s entrepreneurship numbers are in decline? I’m definitely surprised at this statistic because we haven’t seen a decline in the number of entrepreneurs we support, but it also makes sense.
Why do you think people aren’t starting businesses as much anymore? Inflation, higher cost of living, a tougher economy?
📣 Women Founders Get Seen
Meet the founder of Paws & Sparkle Home Cleaning, Sasha Mangar. Sasha is a local Parkdale entrepreneur and joined Canada Innovates as a founder this summer.
Hi Sasha! it’s nice to meet you. Why did you start Paws & Sparkle Home Cleaning?
Paws & Sparkle Home Cleaning is a pet-first residential cleaning company. We have unique pet specific add-ons such as litter box deep cleans, cat-tree maintenance, and pet laundry. I started Paws & Sparkle to be the cleaning service I wanted. A cleaning service that treated my pets like family instead of an obligation. That put their health and safety first.
Can you tell us a bit about your career background? What brought you here?
I spent ten years in banking and finance, using the last two in HR to hone my hiring skills. Studying Business Management at Wilfrid Laurier and living across ten countries shaped my entrepreneurial mindset, but writing the business plan for Paws & Sparkle made one thing clear: it was time to bring it home to Parkdale, Toronto.
Check out Paws & Sparkle’s website here.
🤝Ecosystem Brief
The Women’s Economic Council (WEC), Canada’s national organization dedicated to advancing women-centred economic development, is conducting a 10-minute national Survey Link.
Participants can draw to win one of five $100 gift cards. Reach out to the WEC team: celinega@womenseconomiccouncil.ca
💡My Brief
I wrote recently about navigating criticism as an entrepreneur. My biggest take away from that reflection is that not every criticism deserves your attention. As entrepreneurs, especially women founders, we have to be able to create a filter for feedback and criticism as we embark on our business journey, because trust me, you’ll be receiving a lot of it.
Do you have anything you’d like to share that’s beneficial for women founders? Get in touch either here on LinkedIn or connect with me over email at rusul@canadainnovates.org
Inclusive Entrepreneurship 