Rise Project

Join us in celebrating our Stacy’s Rise Project™ Grant Recipients! These 5 inspiring Canadian founders will each receive a $25,000 grant and mentoring to take their business to the next level. Congratulations!

Meet the Class of 2024 Founders

Inspired by her daughter, Eliana, coupled with her passion for the environment, natural beauty, and healthy living, Evelyne founded Ellie Bianca with the mission of giving every woman the opportunity to embrace and own her strength and beauty, inside and out.

Evelyne Nyairo

Ellie Bianca

Born from the struggle to find nourishing food that fits different dietary needs on the go, Flourish Kitchen brings yummy and easy-to-digest meals to women who desire big, joyful lives. Kate is a passionate creator who is determined to help others feel their best!

Kate Tremills

Flourish Kitchen

Fueled by a lack of solutions for the devastating health effects of firefighter exposure, Dee developed Sootsoap to keep firefighters and their families free from toxins.

K. Dee Howard

Sootsoap Supply Co.

Ajoa, an engineer-turned-entrepreneur blends her education, diverse experiences, and unwavering creativity to spread the joy of ice cream to everyone, no matter their dietary preferences or restrictions.

Ajoa Mintah

Four All Ice Cream

Nadia set out to revolutionize women’s health, pioneering the first-ever lubricated tampon for smoother and more comfortable insertion. Beyond the product, the “TMI Club” has built a strong community to destigmatize women's health.

Nadia Ladak

Marlow

What is The Stacy’s Rise Project^TM?

The Stacy’s Rise Project™ is a program committed to empowering and supporting women entrepreneurs on their paths to establishing a successful business through funding, mentorship, and community. At Stacy’s, our mission is to #HelpWomenRiseCA.

Inspired by our own roots as a woman-founded company, the Stacy’s Rise Project™ was launched in the U.S in 2019. The program has connected thousands of women entrepreneurs and provided over $1,000,000 in funding in addition to resources and mentoring to elevate the leaders that help our communities thrive.

There are approximately 1.1 million women entrepreneurs in Canada¹, but many of these women face barriers to proper funding and mentorship, which limits professional growth.

¹ Cukier, W., Mo, G. Y., Chavoushi, Z. H., Blanchette, S., Noshiravani, R. (2021). The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada 2021. Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub. https://wekh.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/State_of_Womens_Entrepreneurship_in_Canada_2021.pdf

Grant recipients receive:

Five $25,000 Business Grants will be awarded to recipients

Four months of 2:1 PepsiCo executive mentorship

Increased visibility through the Stacy’s^® brand platform

A peer network with other women entrepreneurs

Stacy’s Rise Project Alumni

The Home of plant-based Caribbean Goodness. Choose Life Food’s mission is to create nutritious plant-based alternatives to the Caribbean’s most beloved dishes so consumers with different dietary restrictions can enjoy them.

Carolyn Simon

Choose Life Foods

Founded by a mom of three and teacher, these award winning daily visual schedules are proven product solutions with the goal to help children, adults and families have happier and easier days.

Elaine Tan Comeau

Easy Daysies

100% Indigenous women-owned, unique maple syrup company. Located in Neqotkuk (Tobique) First Nation, Wabanaki Maple provides a twist on tradition with a signature, aging maple syrup in previously used bourbon, whiskey, rum and oak barrels.

Jolene Johnson

Wabanaki Maple

Women owned and led superfood chocolate company. 7 Summits Snacks provides tasty and purposeful chocolate products designed to 'fuel your next adventure'.

Kristyn Carriere

Seven Summits Snacks

WHY WE RISE

Women have shaped history and made history – by being resilient. But a woman’s work has no finish line. When progress feels stalled, or even under siege, our roots can push us forward. Through our founders’ stories we’ll see the roots- the stories and voices and fortitude of those who came before- are a rich reserve of resilience, powering us towards progress, propelling us into the future.

When one woman rises, we all rise.

Stacy’s Woman-Founded Story

When Stacy Madison started making pita chips at her sandwich cart in Boston, she knew passion, hard work, and using only quality ingredients were what her customers deserved. Stacy would make baked pita chips every day and would hand them out as free samples to customers waiting in line for their sandwich.
The samples were an immediate hit, and Stacy’s Pita Chips was founded shortly after in 1997.

Even two decades later, we are still committed to our values and doing what it takes to make our best snacks. True to our history as a woman-owned business, we are thrilled to help women entrepreneurs of today rise through mentorship, grants, and community.