Kirsten Koppang Telford, CEO at The Forum, says getting entrepreneurs like Ms. Genovese in front of angel investors and corporate partners is vital – not just for the entrepreneurs, but for the country. As economic ties with the United States become more volatile, Canada needs home-grown innovation more than ever, she says.

A recent federal government report stated that equal participation between men and women in entrepreneurship could increase Canada’s GDP by $150-billion. “Different people solve different kinds of problems,” Ms. Koppang Telford says. “Imagine having as many women in the room as men – what that could do for the potential of this country when we need it.”

Finalist Ibukun Elebute of CELLECT Laboratories proves the point. The health technology startup based in Kitchener, Ont., is developing a method to collect menstrual blood for cervical and gynecological testing using nanomaterials – potentially replacing Pap smears…. (Read more).

Published on August 5, 2025
Originally published by The Globe and Mail
Image credit: The Globe and Mail