Canada's Untapped Growth Engine
Unlocking Women’s Contribution in Growth Capital, Commercialization, and Economic Competitiveness
Canada is at a pivotal economic moment.
As governments, investors, and industry leaders focus on strengthening productivity, commercialization, private capital mobilization, and economic competitiveness, an important opportunity remains underleveraged: the full participation of women entrepreneurs and investors in Canada’s growth economy.
To explore this opportunity, the Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) convened a national roundtable of leaders from venture capital, angel investment, women-led funds, commercialization ecosystems, accelerators, and entrepreneurial support organizations from across Canada.
The resulting report, Canada’s Untapped Growth Engine, captures the key insights, opportunities, and challenges identified through the discussion and examines what it will take to strengthen growth pathways for women entrepreneurs and investors across the capital continuum.
Key Insights
The report highlights several important themes:
- Women entrepreneurs remain concentrated in the earliest stages of the capital continuum, limiting access to later-stage growth capital.
- Significant private capital exists in Canada but remains disconnected from the innovation economy.
- Women investors, angel networks, and funds represent a significant opportunity to mobilize additional domestic capital.
- Entrepreneurial ecosystem organizations are increasingly operating as strategic economic infrastructure.
- Strong regional models are emerging across Canada, but growth pathways remain fragmented.
- Existing entrepreneurial and investment systems continue to create barriers to women’s full participation and growth.
Why This Matters
The report argues that strengthening women’s participation in entrepreneurship and investment is not simply an inclusion objective—it is an economic opportunity.
At a time when Canada is seeking to improve productivity, accelerate commercialization, mobilize private capital, strengthen domestic ownership, and enhance long-term economic competitiveness, unlocking the full participation of women entrepreneurs and investors represents a significant source of untapped growth.
About the Roundtable
The WEOC National Roundtable on Women, Growth Capital, and Economic Competitiveness was held in Ottawa on May 6, 2026 and brought together leaders from organizations including The 51, Archangel Network, Capital Angel Network, Phoenix Fire, Spring, Women’s Equity Lab, OKGN WMAN Angel Funds and SheBoot.
The report reflects strategic insights emerging from the discussion and is intended to support ongoing conversations among governments, investors, ecosystem leaders, and entrepreneurial support organizations.