A special IWD message from Ashley Francisco

Women entrepreneurs remain underrepresented in the startup ecosystem because they often lack access to the resources they need. The pandemic has amplified these structural barriers and have made it even harder for women-led businesses to access capital and scale. But that doesn’t stop us! Women have a remarkable ability to persevere and innovate through challenging times.

At Google, we created the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders program to help address gender disparity in the tech startup ecosystem. We’ve made a conscious effort to connect these founders with other women in leadership positions and venture capital, in order to help build and scale our community of women leaders in Canada.  

My advice to women entrepreneurs – build your network, lean on your network and support your network. Seek mentorship and tap into the relationships you’ve built as you continue to overcome obstacles and unlock new opportunities. Don’t go it alone! 

Ashley Francisco

Head of Startup Developer Ecosystems, Google Canada

Ashley Francisco, Head of Startup Developer Ecosystems, Google Canada,  is based in Kitchener-Waterloo. She manages all Canadian and the North American Women Founders accelerators, scaled startup ecosystem events, and Canadian partner engagement at Google. Her goal is to help bring the best of Google’s people, programs, products and technology to startup teams across the country. Francisco is a professional marketer by trade with a diverse background in local and global brand building for companies including Google, Visa, Mondelez and Kraft Foods.

CanadianSME

With an aim to contribute to the development of Canada’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), Cmarketing Inc is a potential marketing agency and a boutique business management company progressing rapidly in its scope. By acknowledging a firm reliance of the Canadian economy over its SMEs, the agency has resolved to launch a magazine, the pure focus of which will be the furtherance of Canadian SMEs, and to assist their progress with the scheduled token of enlightenment via the magazine’s pertinent content.

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