Swiss female founder delegation to Canada

Key elements of this business mission are pre-arranged in-person meetings with:

• Major Canadian companies looking for partnerships with Swiss startups
• Strategic Investor meetings 
• High-profile networking with major ecosystem players
• Potential client introductions
• Canadian market entry exploration 

Why a women and technology focused delegation?

Even though women are increasingly working in leadership roles, they still encounter complex challenges spurred by gender biases. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the issue. Women entrepreneurs often face issues with inequitable access to finance, a lack of high-caliber mentorship and support networks and pervasive gender stereotypes, which continue to negatively impact their growth.

While there is definitely room for improvement, there are some examples of successful female business leaders in Switzerland and Canada, notably in the tech industry. 

• In Switzerland about 14.5% of tech companies are founded by women
• A recent Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub study identified that of the 7 Canadian unicorns in 2020, women made up approximately a quarter of their leadership: 23 women hold a position of Vice President or higher out of a combined 91 senior roles. 
• Both countries have women entrepreneurs increasingly backing other female founders financially and through formal/informal support groups. 

In this context, the goal of this business mission is to bring together a diverse mix of female and non-binary entrepreneurs from both countries to not only engage with each other, but amplify their success by finding opportunities for collaboration, build network and expand business internationally.