Queen鈥檚 University and L-SPARK, an Ottawa-based accelerator, announced the launch of Compass North, a new acceleration program specifically designed for women founders in Kingston and region with posted revenues in a technology sector.
In August, the Government of Canada, through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund, announced a contribution of $3.2 million for Queen鈥檚 University to design and deliver programs and services to accelerate, train, mentor and provide resources to women entrepreneurs and women-led companies in the community. These programs will focus on women entrepreneurs from diverse and underrepresented groups.
Compass North is the first of the new programs to be unveiled by Queen鈥檚. The program provides mentorship and matches every founder with a mentor to help plan strategically and reach goals and objectives. The program is cohort-based, providing participants with the support of their peers throughout. Compass North has an advisory group to oversee the program, including Shopify鈥檚 Global Wellness Specialist , Connections Silicon Valley Chief Executive Officer , and entrepreneur .
鈥淨ueen鈥檚 University is delighted to be working with to design and deliver this program, which is part of an overall initiative to help address gaps and build capacity in the entrepreneurship ecosystem for women. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada through the Women鈥檚 Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund, delivered in the region by the (),鈥 says Janice Mady, Director, Research and Innovation Partnerships at Queen鈥檚. 鈥淭he new program combines the proven L-SPARK acceleration model with additional features that focus on reducing barriers commonly faced by women entrepreneurs who are building technology-based companies.鈥
鈥淧artnering with Queen鈥檚 University on this program aimed at women-led technology companies has presented an incredible opportunity for the advancement of women in our startup ecosystem. Through this program, founders will gain access to hands-on mentorship, strategic training, and access to a tight-knit community of entrepreneurs. We are thrilled to be a part of this initiative, which helps position Canada as a global leader in technology,鈥 says Stef Reid, Senior Marketing Manager at L-SPARK.
To celebrate the launch, Queen鈥檚 and L-SPARK hosted an event which featured Queen鈥檚 alum Alyssa Furtado (co-founder of Ratehub Inc. and CEO of Ratehub.ca) as the keynote speaker and an engaging panel of women entrepreneurs who have built or are building successful technology-based companies in Kingston. The expert panel included Peng-Sang Cau, President and CEO of Transformix Engineering Inc.; Anne Vivian-Scott, President and CEO of Kinarm; and Christa Wallbridge, CEO and President of The Power Collective Inc.