PARO Centre for Women's Enterprise

Published purpose

Through this 33-month systemic change project, PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise will scale “Collaboration for Transformation” to advance women’s economic security and prosperity. It will scale to four (4) WAGE regions- Atlantic, Ontario, Prairies and Pacific. It will address barriers that women entrepreneurs, especially Indigenous, newcomer, and other diverse entrepreneurs with intersecting identities, disproportionately face in comparison to men when growing their business, including in growth sectors such as green ∕ clean tech, digital services, agri-food and manufacturing; To do so, the project will increase women entrepreneurs’ access to financing and markets, including to procurement and other opportunities for scaling-up their businesses; increase overall understanding of barriers that limit women’s full economic participation as entrepreneurs; and increase the network of partners, allies, and stakeholders acting as champions for women entrepreneurs. With the supplemental funding and extension provided in early 2026, PARO will add a dedicated, Pan Canadian research and knowledge mobilization stream to the project, focused on women entrepreneurs in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. The project will examine how policies, protocols, and programs in the AI/tech ecosystem are excluding women entrepreneurs and what is required to make these systems inclusive and responsive; convene and collaborate with partners, allies, and stakeholders to identify barriers and influence change in policies, programs, and protocols in AI/tech ecosystems to benefit women entrepreneurs; and mobilize strategic action through knowledge dissemination about the IA/tech ecosystem findings to impact positive system change. Through this, the project will further advance gender equality.