Expanding Entrepreneurship
About
The topic of increasing the number of female-owned technology businesses is one that has been studied for decades. While many jurisdictions have struggled to overcome the barriers, Chile and Latin America are making great strides. The Newfoundland And Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE) released a report which spoke of the barriers to self-employment and discussed ways in which women can grow the economy. Some of the barriers discovered included difficulty accessing financing, limited business skills training, family commitments, fear of taking risks, limited access to partners, and lack of mentors.
Genesis wants to explore ways in which the organization can attract human capital from all over the world to come to Newfoundland and Labrador to live, work, and innovate. Further, immigrants are seen as more entrepreneurial than the native-born population and will be more likely to be self–employed. Genesis vision of creating a vibrant and self-sustaining technology industry contributes to the economic diversification that is necessary for the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador to grow.
Primary Research Question
What impact will the creation and expansion of targeted, innovative programming based on lean methodology practices have on reducing barriers to entry for marginalized groups in the technology sector and therefore increasing the number of companies with female and/ or immigrant founders in Newfoundland and Labrador over a three-year span?
Who
Research led by Genesis Group Inc.
Where
Research to be conducted within Newfoundland and Labrador.
When
March 2018 – March 2021 *This research project is completed.
Research Project Deliverables
Since the start of the project, Genesis has made significant progress in addressing the barriers to technology-based entrepreneurship that women and immigrant founders face. Today, Genesis is proud to report that 33% of the client portfolio has a woman founder/co-founder (up from 0% in 2015) and 42% has an immigrant founder/co-founder. They aim to reach 40% representation of women-led and 50% representation of immigrant-led in the next two to three years.
The research project resulted in $2.5 million in annual revenues and the creation of 25+ jobs.
This slide deck was presented at a Stakeholder Briefing on March 22, 2022.
This video was presented at the NL Workforce Innovators Roundtable 2021 on October 5.
