HAMILTON — The Ontario government is investing $360,000 in the Innovation Factory through the Women’s Economic Leadership and Legacy (WELL) Fund to advance women’s health and entrepreneurship. Their program, wHealth Ignite, is dedicated to women’s health innovation delivered by Femtech Canada and will support projects that address barriers experienced by women who want to remain and advance in high-growth sectors such as the health-tech industry. 

Delivered by Femtech Canada, in partnership with Spring and Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship at Western University and supported by the Google for Startups Cloud Program, wHealth Ignite is a milestone-driven program that supports high-potential, seed-stage femtech ventures to de-risk their path to market and accelerate their efforts to attract investors. 

“Hamilton is a hub for discovery and health innovation with globally renowned hospitals and learning institutions like McMaster University,” said Monica Ciriello, Member of Provincial Parliament for Hamilton Mountain. “Our government is proud to support Innovation Factory with an investment that will increase research capacity in women’s health and create more opportunities specifically for women to be involved in the process. This investment will help women turn bold ideas into businesses that strengthen our local economy and advance meaningful research in critical areas that have historically been underexplored.”

“Innovation Factory and our partners at Femtech Canada are tremendously grateful for this investment from the WELL Fund,” said David Carter, Innovation Factory’s CEO. “For too long, women’s health has been neglected in medical research, and tech start-ups often overlook it as a key component of creating safe, welcoming workplaces.”

The government is investing $11 million over two years through the WELL Fund. Its two-stream model will help survivors of human trafficking access education, training and employment pathways while also supporting women’s leadership in high-demand sectors, including clean energy, construction and entrepreneurship in technology.

“As our government continues to protect Ontario workers and our economy, we are ensuring more women have the opportunity to succeed in rewarding, good-paying careers,” said Charmaine Williams, Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity. “The WELL Fund will help women gain the skills, mentorship and supports they need to thrive in Ontario’s growing economy while also helping survivors of human trafficking rebuild their lives with independence.”

The WELL Fund will boost women’s retention and leadership in high-demand sectors while creating pathways to long-term stability and economic independence for survivors. The high-growth sectors stream will increase women’s retention, promotion and leadership in high-demand sectors, including clean energy, construction and entrepreneurship in technology. The anti-human trafficking stream will help survivors recover and rebuild their lives by strengthening peer supports and providing pathways to education and employment.