Built by an educator with 25+ years of expertise in business education in universities, informed by advanced research in female entrepreneurship.
A Gender-Informed, Pedagogy-Backed Venture Pathway for Young Women, intentionally designed around how women learn best: collaboratively, relationally and experientially.
Guided by our signature Entrepreneurial Compass, a framework that orients students toward purpose-driven solutions for real personal, community, social and market challenges.
Builds the skills universities and employers reward: critical thinking, communication, pitching, business modelling and entrepreneurial confidence, developed through doing.
Graduates leave with a tangible portfolio that separates them from thousands of equally qualified applicants at university and career entry.
Two pathways: The Launchpad for ages 15 to 17 and The Incubator for ages 18 to 25, meeting young women exactly where they are in their journey.
Small cohorts of maximum 15 students, fully live online, intimate, focused and designed for real connection and progress.
Piloted at ICUBE, University of Toronto (Mississauga) with 5 ventures actively progressing and 100% of participants reporting increased capability.
InnovateHERed is a structured entrepreneurship programme created exclusively for young women aged 15–25. It is designed to develop how participants think and how they build as an integrated process. The programme is grounded in the Entrepreneurial Compass, a proprietary four stage framework that develops disciplined, purpose driven thinking alongside practical application. STEM and artificial intelligence are integrated throughout the programme as core tools, shaping both how ideas are formed and how they are developed into early-stage solutions. Rather than treating these as separate disciplines, InnovateHERed positions them as fundamental to navigating and influencing the modern world. Participants are selected through an application process and work within a small, focused cohort. Within this environment, they engage with real-world problems, develop and test ideas, and learn to articulate their thinking and solutions with clarity, precision, and confidence. InnovateHERed is intentionally rigorous and selective. It is designed for young women who are prepared to think critically, build meaningfully, and contribute with intention. For the ambitious. The driven. The ones who want to leave the world different than they found it.
Participants use AI tools to conduct faster, deeper customer research identifying real market gaps and validating ideas with evidence, not guesswork.
A structured, data driven approach to identifying problems and building solutions the same methodology used in top accelerators and university innovation labs.
AI Tools for Prototyping From building lean business models to testing solutions rapidly, participants learn to use AI as a co-founder accelerating ideas from concept to pitch-ready.
Financial modelling, go to market planning, and competitive analysis all approached with the analytical rigour that STEM thinking demands and employers reward.
There is a version of you that knows how to execute, lead, and build. School gives you the knowledge. We give you the edge.
This is where ideas are rigorously tested, challenged, and either validated or discarded.Students move beyond surface level thinking to interrogate assumptions, test concepts, and develop the ability to make sharp, independent decisions. The outcome is a body of work that demonstrates intellectual depth, initiative, and real world judgement.
Academic excellence opens doors. Knowing how to build, pitch, and lead is what keeps them open.
This is for you if you are 18 to 25, serious about your idea, and ready to stop thinking and start building.
Hear from the women who were part of the
InnovateHERed cohort
at the University of Toronto (Mississauga), in
partnership with ICUBE.
The job market is no longer predictable. Degrees alone no longer guarantee direction. Yet much of education still focuses on what to think rather than how to think. Most entrepreneurship programmes expose young women to ideas, industries, and inspiration. But exposure is not enough. Students are rarely taught how to test ideas, make decisions under uncertainty, or build something real.
This approach is grounded in research, university-level teaching, and working directly with young women. The pattern has been consistent: talented students leaving education with knowledge but not agency. Qualified, but without a framework to act on it.InnovateHERed exists to change that. Graduates leave with a portfolio that universities and employers notice. Not because it lists another qualification, but because it demonstrates how she thinks, builds and leads.
Learn to analyse problems, evaluate options and make decisions with confidence and clarity.
Move beyond obvious answers. Generate ideas that are original, viable and grounded in real need.
Articulate your ideas with conviction to investors, universities, employers and the world.
Understand who you serve. Test assumptions. Build solutions that people actually need.
From revenue models to go-to-market plans, the analytical rigour employers and universities reward.
The mindset shift that changes everything. From waiting for permission to stepping forward and leading.
A tangible project that separates you from thousands of equally qualified applicants.
Clarifying why you build values, identity, and the mission that drives you.
Identifying a real, validated need understanding who you serve and the gap you fill.
Bringing ideas to life testing and iterating with lean methodology.
Communicating with conviction telling your story to partners and the world.
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