In February this year, we launched the Google for Startups Accelerator Canada, our first accelerator in the country giving selected startups access to the best of Google’s, products, people, and technology, with the goal of helping founders, and their teams, build great products and services. We were overwhelmed with the positive response from Canadian founders, and saw an opportunity to offer more programming to the ecosystem.
Building on this momentum, we’re excited to launch the first Google for Startups Accelerator for Women Founders. This accelerator will be open to both Canadian and US startups, helping them identify and solve for specific challenges with the support of experts, both from Google and the wider technology industry. To better support women founders we’ve made a conscious effort to include more women leaders, from Google and the community, to deliver workshops, talks and 1:1 mentoring sessions. Women founders who become program alumni will be invited to join our global Google for Startups Women community – a peer-led community of women entrepreneurs from around the world.
In addition to mentorship and technical project support, the Accelerator also includes deep dives and workshops focused on product design, customer acquisition, and leadership development for founders. We know that women founders can face unique challenges, so we’re working closely with our product inclusion team to ensure that relevant programming is offered to the women founders community.
This new accelerator will complement various programs we have across the globe to support diverse groups of founders. One example is our Google for Startups Residency program in London- a 12-week program to support women founded companies through their journey, and help accelerate their growth. The program is now in its fifth rotation, and founders are tackling major challenges across many different industries including education, health, cyber security, and more. Earlier this month we also announced a Google for Startups Accelerator for Black Founders in the US, which we hope will provide additional support to Black Founders looking for ways to scale their companies.
By doubling down on our support for the ecosystem and our partners, and introducing new accelerator programs like this one, we hope to create more opportunities for startups to scale at home, and continue to bridge the gap between men and women in the startup ecosystem.
Applications for the Google for Startups Accelerator for Women Founders are open until July 22. For more information and to apply, visit g.co/womenfoundersaccelerator.