{"id":74309,"date":"2018-11-22T22:32:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-22T22:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interac1.wpengine.com\/content\/%content-category%\/ambitious-ottawa-area-girls-advance-entrepreneurial-ideas-during-financial-literacy-month\/"},"modified":"2025-05-30T12:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T16:55:09","slug":"ambitious-ottawa-area-girls-advance-entrepreneurial-ideas-during-financial-literacy-month","status":"publish","type":"content","link":"https:\/\/www.interac.ca\/en\/content\/news\/ambitious-ottawa-area-girls-advance-entrepreneurial-ideas-during-financial-literacy-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambitious Ottawa-area girls advance entrepreneurial ideas during Financial Literacy Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA, November 22, 2018 \u2014 <\/strong>Canada\u2019s business and community leaders know the future is in good hands, thanks to ambiSHEous<\/a><\/u>, an Ottawa-based leadership program changing the game for girls. This week, 26 up-and-coming business, political, and social impact leaders\u2014all girls in grades 7-10 from across the Ottawa region\u2014shared their ambitions, advanced their entrepreneurial ideas, and received mentorship from some of Canada\u2019s top private and public sector leaders.<\/p>\n

Over the course of a two-day StartUp Self Workshop<\/a><\/u>, proudly supported by Interac Corp. during Financial Literacy Month, ambiSHEous equipped girls with the actionable skills, real-life knowledge and experience-based confidence they need to navigate towards independence, make a positive impact, and shape a more powerful future for themselves and their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt ambiSHEous, we believe today\u2019s girls are a promising and powerful force,\u201d said Katharine Cornfield, Founder of ambiSHEous. \u201cBy empowering girls to take action on their ideas\u2014and by giving them the right tools and support\u2014we\u2019re nurturing their ambition and helping them to become exactly the kind of leaders the world needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so proud to work with ambiSHEous and to support these amazing young women,\u201d said Daria Hill, Director of Corporate Communications at Interac. \u201cBy equipping them with digital and financial literacy skills, and giving them visibility to industry leaders, we are helping ensure they are well-equipped to be strong contributors to Canada\u2019s economy in the future. At Interac, we are committed to helping Canadians \u2013 both individuals and businesses, succeed in today\u2019s digital economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The StartUp Self program takes direct aim at Canada\u2019s gender leadership gap. Just 16 per cent of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses are majority-owned by women (ISED, 2018) and just 15 per cent of private sector CEOs are women (McKinsey, 2017). Furthermore, Canadian women are 13 per cent more likely than men to respond \u201cdon’t know\u201d to financial literacy questions (Statistics Canada, 2016). For these reasons, the economic and political empowerment of girls is core to the StartUp Self approach. By combining financial, digital, and civic literacy with entrepreneurship, ambiSHEous is equipping girls with the critical skills and knowledge they need to succeed in tomorrow\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Throughout the workshop, participants used this knowledge to develop and pitch entrepreneurial ideas around pet insurance, adoption services, inclusive teen centres, bee-friendly florists, natural hair products, innovative shoes, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about a business idea since I was 10 years old,\u201d said Megan Caldwell, a grade 8 student from Embrun, Ontario. \u201cThe ambiSHEous experience has helped me to develop that idea and I\u2019ve learned the skills I need to create a business around it.\u201d<\/p>\n