Menu
Menu
Menu
Menu
Our mission
To pave the way for Canadian Black women to lead the digital and green economy, improving BIPOC lives and building an equitable world.
Our vision
We envision a future where Black women entrepreneurs are at the forefront of technological innovation, creating scalable businesses that drive economic growth and social progress.
Dynamic
Collaboration
FoundHers Innovation Labs is an initiative inspired by the groundbreaking 2021 "FoundHers" research study, conducted by Pitch Better in collaboration with the Canadian Women's Foundation. This comprehensive study, encompassing 1,545 Black women founders across Canada and 126 focus group participants, revealing critical insights.
90%
didn't participate in business development programs due to high barrier access, imposter syndrome and a lack of relevant success stories and examples
62%
are actively seeking investment capital
59%
Black women earn only 59% of the average male income
58%
of Black women founders hold a Bachelor's degree or higher
Unique on Black women focused on tech
Unique on Black women focused on tech
Unique on Black women focused on tech
Culturally specific programming
Culturally specific programming
Culturally specific programming
Low-cost program with
high-value resources
Low-cost program with
high-value resources
Low-cost program with
high-value resources
Emphasis on scalable, venture-backable businesses
Emphasis on scalable, venture-backable businesses
Emphasis on scalable, venture-backable businesses
Program Team
FoundHers Innovation Labs is an initiative inspired by the groundbreaking 2021 "FoundHers" research study, conducted by Pitch Better in collaboration with the Canadian Women's Foundation. This comprehensive study, encompassing 1,545 Black women founders across Canada and 126 focus group participants, revealed critical insights:
58%
of Black women founders hold a Bachelor's degree or higher
62%
are actively seeking investment capital
59%
Black women earn only 59% of the average male income
90%
of Black Women were not engaged in business development programs, accelerators, or incubators
The Canadian Women's Foundation, a national charity dedicated to empowering women and girls, advancing gender equality, and combating poverty and violence, provided invaluable support for this initiative. Their backing has been instrumental in bringing these crucial issues to light and fostering positive change in the entrepreneurial landscape for Black women in Canada.
Program Director & General Partner
FoundHers Labs | Pitch Better Inc.
Amoye Henry, MBA
Amoye Henry, MBA is an investor, author and strategist on a mission to scale growth-based businesses led by unique founders across four different continents. She has worked to secure millions in funding for tech entrepreneurs, start-ups, and innovation-driven organizations.
She is the Co-Founder of Pitch Better Inc., an award winning market-research firm that supports underrepresented founders.
Amoye Henry, MBA is an investor, author and strategist on a mission to scale growth-based businesses led by unique founders across four different continents. She has worked to secure millions in funding for tech entrepreneurs, start-ups, and innovation-driven organizations.
She is the Co-Founder of Pitch Better Inc., an award winning market-research firm that supports underrepresented founders.
Co-Chair of the Board
FoundHers Labs | Pitch Better Inc.
Cierra Madore
Cierra Madore is a business strategist for a top management consulting firm, helping Fortune 500 clients realize growth through digital transformation and innovation. She has been recognized for her human-centric, data-driven approach to reinventing business models, redesigning products, and reimagining customer experiences.
Cierra serves as the Board Co-Chair for Pitch Better, a national nonprofit supporting Black and equity-seeking entrepreneurs. She is using her seat at the table to shape the organizations strategy, applying innovative business models to drive sustainability and impact. As part of her mandate, she is sponsoring a new accelerator program that enables BIPOC founders to pivot, build, and scale digital, ESG-conscious businesses.
Cierra Madore is a business strategist for a top management consulting firm, helping Fortune 500 clients realize growth through digital transformation and innovation. She has been recognized for her human-centric, data-driven approach to reinventing business models, redesigning products, and reimagining customer experiences.
Cierra serves as the Board Co-Chair for Pitch Better, a national nonprofit supporting Black and equity-seeking entrepreneurs. She is using her seat at the table to shape the organizations strategy, applying innovative business models to drive sustainability and impact. As part of her mandate, she is sponsoring a new accelerator program that enables BIPOC founders to pivot, build, and scale digital, ESG-conscious businesses.
Learning Experience Director
FoundHers Labs | Pitch Better Inc.
Peta-Ann Leon
Peta-Ann is a dedicated marketing & sales professional with an established record of exceeding objectives, launching results-focused initiatives, and bringing innovative ideas to market. She is passionate about growing high-performance solutions with collaborative teams, and championing entrepreneurship, diversity, and women in tech. She has been with Pitch Better since 2021 as a Director of Memberships & Partnerships.
In her day Peta works with enterprise application research and supports marketing advisory sessions. Outside of work she runs and operates Leon Designs - a full-service marketing and business consulting agency supporting clients on a wide range of projects from concept to production.
Peta-Ann graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Psychology and holds a Diploma in Public Relations from Western for her work in strategic communication.
Fractional Chief Financial Officer
FoundHers Labs | Pitch Better Inc.
Layla Freig, CPA
Layla Freig is a Certified Public Accountant with a diverse background spanning business development, startup technology, financial planning, fashion, auditing, and analysis. This varied experience has equipped her with a unique blend of competencies. Freig is an analytical thinker, a goal-driven financial and operational strategist, and a creative problem-solver with strong leadership abilities.
As a fractional chief financial officer, she leverages her multifaceted expertise to provide strategic financial guidance and operational oversight to companies on a part-time or project basis. Freig's analytical mindset, coupled with her creative problem-solving skills, allows her to devise innovative solutions to complex financial and operational challenges.
Her ability to drive goal-oriented financial and operational strategies makes her an invaluable asset to businesses seeking to optimize their financial performance and streamline their operations. With a proven track record in diverse industries, Freig brings a fresh perspective and a wealth of knowledge to every engagement, helping companies achieve their financial objectives and unlock new growth opportunities.
Venture Coaches
Venture Coach | Advisor
FoundHers Labs
De'Havia Stewart
De’Havia Stewart
De’Havia Stewart is an investor at Serena Ventures, where she is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing deals. She has interest in early stage investing across Embedded Finance, Digital Health, and B2B SaaS.
De’Havia brings 3 years of early stage investing experience, in which she helped deploy $100M+ in capital. Aside from day-to-day work, De’Havia volunteers in leadership positions with non-profits focused on decreasing the funding gap such as BLCK VC and HBCUvc.
De’Havia began her career in consulting at Accenture Strategy, where she gained project experience within M&A, Operating Model Strategy, and Digital Strategy.
Venture Coach | Advisor
FoundHers Labs
Yvonne Bajela
Yvonne Bajela is an experienced venture capital investment professional and board member with over 10 years of experience in strategy consulting, deal origination, portfolio management and board management across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Whilst her career began at the multinational investment bank, Goldman Sachs, Yvonne has brought her expertise around the globe, having lived and worked in countries spanning from Israel to Japan, advising companies to scale internationally.
Yvonne is currently a Partner at LocalGlobe and Latitude. She is also a founding member of Impact X, a £100m UK-based venture capital fund focused on underrepresented entrepreneurs. During her time as an investor at Impact X, she led an investment in insurtech unicorn, Marshmallow. Prior to Impact X, she was an investment manager at Mitsui, where she led investments in transformative companies including Wise (formerly TransferWise).
Venture Coach | Advisor
FoundHers Labs
Alisha Golden
Alisha Golden is an investor and strategic advisor with a global footprint that spans four continents. Her experience leading a global consultancy, based in NYC, and active across North America, Europe, and Africa has shaped her approach to global economics and leveraging business as a vehicle for systemic change. Through her consultancy, Alisha hailed clients and partners such as Pivotal Ventures, The World Economic Forum, The United Nations Foundation, NASA, Second Muse Capital, and more. She understands innovation and building scalable companies from a variety of cultural lenses and leverages that to drive key partnership adoption, customer acquisition, and growth.
Currently, Alisha serves on the advisory board of Big Cabal Media, and as Investment Manager at Techstars, the world's most active pre-seed investor. Alisha has led investment deals in the U.S and Canada, as well as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Africa, personally championing the acceleration of these investments to scale beyond their local markets to positions where their operational reach is more inter-woven into the broader global economy. In 2023 Alisha was honored with the Peak’s Leadership Award in the area of Finance and Investing and has been profiled by Nasdaq for her transformational work in venture capital investment.
our partners
The Canadian Women’s Foundation is part of the Women and Nonbinary Impact Network for Venture Capital (WIN-VC) collective that will make the venture capital environment more inclusive for women by transforming traditional investment processes, processes and knowledge into respectful and meaningful approaches that value equity and impact with a focus on diverse women and non-binary entrepreneurs and SMEs including Black communities, Indigenous peoples, racialized populations, persons with a disability, 2SLGBTQI+ and new Canadians. WIN-VC acknowledges the support of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada
Le Fondation Canadienne de Femmes et WIN-VC est reconnaissant du soutien apporté par Innovation, Science et Développement économique (ISED) Canada. L'ISED a accordé un financement à WIN-VC qui rendra l'environnement du capital-risque plus inclusif pour les femmes en transformant les processus d'investissement traditionnels, les processus et les connaissances en approches respectueuses et significatives qui valorisent l'équité et l'impact en mettant l'accent sur les femmes diverses et les entrepreneurs non binaires et les PME, y compris les communautés noires, les peuples autochtones, les populations racialisées, les personnes handicapées, les 2SLGBTQ2+ et les néo-Canadiens.
The Canadian Women’s Foundation is part of the Women and Nonbinary Impact Network for Venture Capital (WIN-VC) collective that will make the venture capital environment more inclusive for women by transforming traditional investment processes, processes and knowledge into respectful and meaningful approaches that value equity and impact with a focus on diverse women and non-binary entrepreneurs and SMEs including Black communities, Indigenous peoples, racialized populations, persons with a disability, 2SLGBTQI+ and new Canadians. WIN-VC acknowledges the support of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada
Le Fondation Canadienne de Femmes et WIN-VC est reconnaissant du soutien apporté par Innovation, Science et Développement économique (ISED) Canada. L'ISED a accordé un financement à WIN-VC qui rendra l'environnement du capital-risque plus inclusif pour les femmes en transformant les processus d'investissement traditionnels, les processus et les connaissances en approches respectueuses et significatives qui valorisent l'équité et l'impact en mettant l'accent sur les femmes diverses et les entrepreneurs non binaires et les PME, y compris les communautés noires, les peuples autochtones, les populations racialisées, les personnes handicapées, les 2SLGBTQ2+ et les néo-Canadiens.
The Canadian Women’s Foundation is part of the Women and Nonbinary Impact Network for Venture Capital (WIN-VC) collective that will make the venture capital environment more inclusive for women by transforming traditional investment processes, processes and knowledge into respectful and meaningful approaches that value equity and impact with a focus on diverse women and non-binary entrepreneurs and SMEs including Black communities, Indigenous peoples, racialized populations, persons with a disability, 2SLGBTQI+ and new Canadians. WIN-VC acknowledges the support of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada
Le Fondation Canadienne de Femmes et WIN-VC est reconnaissant du soutien apporté par Innovation, Science et Développement économique (ISED) Canada. L'ISED a accordé un financement à WIN-VC qui rendra l'environnement du capital-risque plus inclusif pour les femmes en transformant les processus d'investissement traditionnels, les processus et les connaissances en approches respectueuses et significatives qui valorisent l'équité et l'impact en mettant l'accent sur les femmes diverses et les entrepreneurs non binaires et les PME, y compris les communautés noires, les peuples autochtones, les populations racialisées, les personnes handicapées, les 2SLGBTQ2+ et les néo-Canadiens.
Co-Chair of the Board
Pitch Better Inc.
Cierra Madore
Cierra Madore is a business strategist for a top management consulting firm, helping Fortune 500 clients realize growth through digital transformation and innovation. She has been recognized for her human-centric, data-driven approach to reinventing business models, redesigning products, and reimagining customer experiences.
Cierra serves as the Board Co-Chair for Pitch Better, a national nonprofit supporting Black and equity-seeking entrepreneurs. She is using her seat at the table to shape the organizations strategy, applying innovative business models to drive sustainability and impact. As part of her mandate, she is sponsoring a new accelerator program that enables BIPOC founders to pivot, build, and scale digital, ESG-conscious businesses.
Learning Experience Director
Pitch Better Inc.
Peta-Ann Leon
Peta-Ann is a dedicated marketing & sales professional with an established record of exceeding objectives, launching results-focused initiatives, and bringing innovative ideas to market. She is passionate about growing high-performance solutions with collaborative teams, and championing entrepreneurship, diversity, and women in tech. She has been with Pitch Better since 2021 as a Director of Memberships & Partnerships.
In her day Peta works with enterprise application research and supports marketing advisory sessions in her role as Director of Member Services at Info-Tech Research Group. Outside of work she runs and operates Leon Designs - a full-service marketing and business consulting agency supporting clients on a wide range of projects from concept to production.
Peta-Ann graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics & Psychology and holds a Diploma in Public Relations from Western for her work in strategic communication.
Program Manager
FoundHers Labs | Pitch Better Inc.
Agnes Ouko
Agnes Ouko is a dynamic tech professional who thrives on driving innovation in business. With a proven track record in technical program management, localization, operations, and venture analysis, Aggie brings a wealth of expertise to her roles. Currently, she leads the FoundHers Innovation Labs program as a Program Manager at Pitch Better and she also contributes her talents as a TLAP-Associate at CIBC Capital Markets. Aggie's academic foundation, including a B.Sc. in Mathematics from UBC and an M.Sc. in Data Science, Technology, and Innovation from the University of Edinburgh, further solidifies her diverse skill set and passion for pushing technological boundaries.
Fractional Chief Financial Officer
FoundHers Labs | Pitch Better Inc.
Layla Freig
Layla Freig is a Certified Public Accountant with a diverse background spanning business development, startup technology, financial planning, fashion, auditing, and analysis. This varied experience has equipped her with a unique blend of competencies. Freig is an analytical thinker, a goal-driven financial and operational strategist, and a creative problem-solver with strong leadership abilities.
As a fractional chief financial officer, she leverages her multifaceted expertise to provide strategic financial guidance and operational oversight to companies on a part-time or project basis. Freig's analytical mindset, coupled with her creative problem-solving skills, allows her to devise innovative solutions to complex financial and operational challenges.
Her ability to drive goal-oriented financial and operational strategies makes her an invaluable asset to businesses seeking to optimize their financial performance and streamline their operations. With a proven track record in diverse industries, Freig brings a fresh perspective and a wealth of knowledge to every engagement, helping companies achieve their financial objectives and unlock new growth opportunities.
Venture Partner | Advisor
FoundHers Labs
De'Havia Stewart
De’Havia Stewart is an investor at Serena Ventures, where she is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing deals. She has interest in early stage investing across Embedded Finance, Digital Health, and B2B SaaS.
De’Havia brings 3 years of early stage investing experience, in which she helped deploy $100M+ in capital. Aside from day-to-day work, De’Havia volunteers in leadership positions with non-profits focused on decreasing the funding gap such as BLCK VC and HBCUvc.
De’Havia began her career in consulting at Accenture Strategy, where she gained project experience within M&A, Operating Model Strategy, and Digital Strategy.
Community Manager
FoundHers Labs
Priscilla Richards
Priscilla is a dynamic marketing professional with a passion for venture capital, technology, and business development. Her expertise in strategic research and social media management make her a strong asset across a variety of industries. At FoundHers Innovation Labs, Priscilla leverages her skills to foster a vibrant community, overseeing engagement initiatives, communications, and facilitating connections among entrepreneurs and investors. Her talent for forging strong partnerships with venture capitalists aligns perfectly with the organization's mission to support and empower Black women in the tech industry. As a bilingual professional, Priscilla plays a crucial role in driving the growth and success of the FoundHers community across Canada.
Venture Partner | Advisor
FoundHers Labs
Alisha Golden
Alisha Golden is an investor and strategic advisor with a global footprint that spans four continents. Her experience leading a global consultancy, based in NYC, and active across North America, Europe, and Africa has shaped her approach to global economics and leveraging business as a vehicle for systemic change. Through her consultancy, Alisha hailed clients and partners such as Pivotal Ventures, The World Economic Forum, The United Nations Foundation, NASA, Second Muse Capital, and more. She understands innovation and building scalable companies from a variety of cultural lenses and leverages that to drive key partnership adoption, customer acquisition, and growth.
Currently, Alisha serves on the advisory board of Big Cabal Media, and as Investment Manager at Techstars, the world's most active pre-seed investor. Alisha has led investment deals in the U.S and Canada, as well as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, and South Africa, personally championing the acceleration of these investments to scale beyond their local markets to positions where their operational reach is more inter-woven into the broader global economy. In 2023 Alisha was honored with the Peak’s Leadership Award in the area of Finance and Investing and has been profiled by Nasdaq for her transformational work in venture capital investment.
Venture Partner | Advisor
FoundHers Labs
Yvonne Bajela
Yvonne Bajela is an experienced venture capital investment professional and board member with over 10 years of experience in strategy consulting, deal origination, portfolio management and board management across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Whilst her career began at the multinational investment bank, Goldman Sachs, Yvonne has brought her expertise around the globe, having lived and worked in countries spanning from Israel to Japan, advising companies to scale internationally.
Yvonne is currently a Partner at LocalGlobe and Latitude. She is also a founding member of Impact X, a £100m UK-based venture capital fund focused on underrepresented entrepreneurs. During her time as an investor at Impact X, she led an investment in insurtech unicorn, Marshmallow. Prior to Impact X, she was an investment manager at Mitsui, where she led investments in transformative companies including Wise (formerly TransferWise).