Press release 

North Forge launches unique initiative to bolster women in innovation  

Winnipeg, Manitoba – March 24, 2023 — The tech industry has been slow to adopt and implement measures to improve diversity, entrepreneurship, and inclusion within its workforce and overall culture. 

According to Statistics Canada, women make up 23% of the Canadian tech industry. To help empower female founders to succeed and thrive in business, and increase these shockingly low statistics, North Forge Technology Exchange (North Forge) has launched a new initiative. The Women in Innovation Lab (WiLab) was designed to empower and inspire women to build a startup in tech, advanced manufacturing and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) by providing top-of-the-line resources, and a team of expert mentors to guide and support female founders every step of the way.

Michelle Virog, founder of Soteria – a Winnipeg-based social media agency, said the WiLab has empowered her with tools and resources to navigate the unique business challenges that female entrepreneurs face.

Virog emphasized, “WiLab has been a game changer for me as a women entrepreneur. I used to be intimidated by financial statements and didn’t understand the numbers behind my business. But after taking the Finance Cafe financial literacy course, that was designed for women, I feel empowered to make informed decisions about my finances. I now have the confidence to manage my cash flow, make strategic investments, and ultimately grow my business with purpose and intention.”

Research has shown that supporting women entrepreneurs can significantly impact economic growth, job creation, and social progress. WiLab aims to create a more inclusive and diverse innovation ecosystem, unlocking new opportunities for growth and driving positive change.

“While there is a disparity of women-led businesses, there is a uniquely disparate number of these women starting tech companies”, explains Joelle Foster, CEO of North Forge. “Diversity is key to driving innovation, and businesses founded by women deliver higher revenue—more than twice as much per dollar invested—than those founded by men, making women-owned companies not only better investments but they will grow the economy.”

Accessibility to resources is a top priority for North Forge. With that in mind, North Forge will be removing barriers for women entrepreneurs by offsetting many of the costs associated with starting a tech business, such as intellectual property strategy and deployment, and incubator fees, as well women-entrepreneur focused programming.

With amazing organizations and companies like ClassRebel, Finance Cafe, and Knowledge Bureau, North Forge will be providing programming/resources for the following with many more to come:

• Financial literacy
• Fundraising
• Introduction to investment
• Access to investment
• Leadership
• Cybersecurity
• Marketing
• Negotiation skills

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Whitney Moir 

Program and Communications Director

North Forge 

E: wmoir@northforge.ca

P: 204 262 6400