DMZ, a global startup ecosystem, announced its third annual Women Innovation Summit, set to take place on March 6, 2025. Hosted at DMZ’s headquarters in downtown Toronto, the Summit will bring together women-led startups, innovators, investors, corporate partners, allies and policymakers for a full day event in honour of International Women’s Day.
Committed to celebrating women entrepreneurs and serving as a catalyst for women’s innovation, the 2025 Summit will unite attendees through intimate roundtable discussions, a pitch competition providing women-led startups with funding opportunities and the official unveiling of DMZ’s 2025 Women of the Year honourees.
Applications for the Women Innovation Pitch Competition and nominations for DMZ’s Women of the Year are now open at dmz.to/WIS. The deadline to apply or nominate is January 19, 2025.
For the third consecutive year, The Firehood—a national network dedicated to advancing women in technology—will join DMZ as an investment partner, committing $100,000 in cash investments for the Women Innovation Pitch Competition. The Firehood has awarded $330,000 in funding to women-led startups through DMZ’s Women Innovation Summit, which has welcomed more than 600 attendees over its first two years.
Women Innovation Pitch Competition
Open to women founders across Canada, the pitch competition provides a unique opportunity to secure funding and accelerate business growth. From the applicants, 25 women founders will be chosen to receive personalized pitch advisory sessions, participate in curated roundtable discussions and gain valuable marketing and PR exposure. Of these, 10 finalists will pitch live at the Summit to angel investors from The Firehood. In 2024, three remarkable women-led startups—LyfeMD, Roga and Granularity—secured funding through the Women Innovation Summit, showcasing the incredible talent driving Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
Women of the Year Awards
DMZ’s Women of the Year Awards honours outstanding women who are driving meaningful change in Canada’s tech and business sectors. Honourees represent trailblazers who are disrupting their industries, leading multi-million dollar companies, revolutionizing technology and inspiring the next generation of women in innovation. Previous awardees include Sylvia Ng, CEO of ReturnBear; Fatima Zaidi, CEO and Founder of Quill; and Mirela Pirlea, Lead Partnerships Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Ontario – Atlantic – West Canada at Desjardins. 2025 award recipients will be revealed at the Women Innovation Summit on March 6, 2025.
Applications for the Women Innovation Pitch Competition and nominations for Women of the Year are open until January 19, 2025. Learn more and apply at dmz.to/WIS.
DMZ’s Women Innovation Summit was funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.
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DMZ’s Women Innovation Summit returns for year three
DMZ, a global startup ecosystem, announced its third annual Women Innovation Summit, set to take place on March 6, 2025. Hosted at DMZ’s headquarters in downtown Toronto, the Summit will bring together women-led startups, innovators, investors, corporate partners, allies and policymakers for a full day event in honour of International Women’s Day.
Committed to celebrating women entrepreneurs and serving as a catalyst for women’s innovation, the 2025 Summit will unite attendees through intimate roundtable discussions, a pitch competition providing women-led startups with funding opportunities and the official unveiling of DMZ’s 2025 Women of the Year honourees.
Applications for the Women Innovation Pitch Competition and nominations for DMZ’s Women of the Year are now open at dmz.to/WIS. The deadline to apply or nominate is January 19, 2025.
For the third consecutive year, The Firehood—a national network dedicated to advancing women in technology—will join DMZ as an investment partner, committing $100,000 in cash investments for the Women Innovation Pitch Competition. The Firehood has awarded $330,000 in funding to women-led startups through DMZ’s Women Innovation Summit, which has welcomed more than 600 attendees over its first two years.
Women Innovation Pitch Competition
Open to women founders across Canada, the pitch competition provides a unique opportunity to secure funding and accelerate business growth. From the applicants, 25 women founders will be chosen to receive personalized pitch advisory sessions, participate in curated roundtable discussions and gain valuable marketing and PR exposure. Of these, 10 finalists will pitch live at the Summit to angel investors from The Firehood. In 2024, three remarkable women-led startups—LyfeMD, Roga and Granularity—secured funding through the Women Innovation Summit, showcasing the incredible talent driving Canada’s innovation ecosystem.
Women of the Year Awards
DMZ’s Women of the Year Awards honours outstanding women who are driving meaningful change in Canada’s tech and business sectors. Honourees represent trailblazers who are disrupting their industries, leading multi-million dollar companies, revolutionizing technology and inspiring the next generation of women in innovation. Previous awardees include Sylvia Ng, CEO of ReturnBear; Fatima Zaidi, CEO and Founder of Quill; and Mirela Pirlea, Lead Partnerships Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Ontario – Atlantic – West Canada at Desjardins. 2025 award recipients will be revealed at the Women Innovation Summit on March 6, 2025.
Applications for the Women Innovation Pitch Competition and nominations for Women of the Year are open until January 19, 2025. Learn more and apply at dmz.to/WIS.
DMZ’s Women Innovation Summit was funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy.
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This entry was posted on December 2, 2024 at 8:23 am and is filed under Commentary with tags DMZ. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.