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By Mario Cabradilla

$500,000 awarded to local program helping female entrepreneurs across Alberta

Jun 3, 2022 | 12:16 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB- Alberta Innovates is funding $500,000 over 13 months to a Lethbridge-based program that aims to help rural female entrepreneurs.

With this funding, Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL) will deliver programming to Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Tech (RWEIT) across Alberta. The RWEIT program will offer rural female tech entrepreneurs across Alberta with opportunities for learning, as well as business advisory services and networking, free of charge.

According to EDL’s VP Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Renae Barlow, the funding will help the Lethbridge organization to continue offering services to areas that struggle with access to quality tools and resources.

“Rural entrepreneurs and more so, women entrepreneurs don’t have access to opportunities that present themselves readily in urban areas. This funding will see Lethbridge and Southern Alberta become the anchor for rural women technology entrepreneurs across the province,” Barlow stated.

“Until April 2023, the RWEIT team will develop, market and execute a curriculum that will help promote and facilitate successes of women led tech ideas and start-ups in our province.”

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The funding is part of Alberta Innovates’ Ecosystem Development Pilot Program, which strives to support small and medium-sized technology companies strengthen the province’s emerging technology ecosystem.

In addition to RWEIT, Alberta Innovates’ pilot program also selected 14 other projects, by non-profit and for-profit entities, and awarded them with over $9.1 million.

These initiatives range from short-term building projects for technology hubs, to long term programs that directly support growing companies.

The pilot was created to spur entrepreneurial growth, according to Laura Kilcrease, CEO of Alberta Innovates, in a June 2, 2022 news release.

“We created the Ecosystem Development Pilot Program to address gaps in the innovation continuum from ideation to commercialization, to reach rural and under-represented populations, and to bring additional specialized knowledge into the system to spur entrepreneurial growth and mindset in every part of the province,” said Kilcrease.

Alberta Innovates also announced on June 2, 2022, the beginning of its Economic Development Partnership Program, and they will start accepting applications in mid-June.

Visit their website for more information.