The Rhyze Award is an opportunity for women in both Guelph and Wellington County to take the next step in their business.
Now in its second year, the Rhyze Award offers funding to female entrepreneurs as well as mentoring and support during the development and growth of their business.
The deadline to apply for the award, which was created out of a research project (the Rhyze Project) by Innovation Guelph, is May 15.
The research project initially looked at why women entrepreneurs in Wellington County and Guelph make up less than 20 per cent of business owners, while the national average is between 30 and 34 per cent, said Kristel Manes, director of the Innovation Centre and project lead.
“That’s far below the national average,” she said.
The project identified three focus areas in order to better encourage and support women entrepreneurs: funding and finance, business fundamentals and personal wellness.
Last March the Rhyze project was awarded $225,000 from Ontario Trillium Foundation to build on the results of the research.
“The Rhyze Award was our answer to the funding problem,” said Manes.
Organizers held an open call for women to apply and submit a business plan. Of the 54 applications received, nine were chosen to compete in a pitch-off last September.
Of the $30,000 that was raised through crowd funding, $20,000 was awarded to three businesses. [re]Fresh Juice Co. in Guelph won the top prize of $10,000 last year, while the Children’s Art Factory and Guelph Community Acupuncture each grabbed $5,000.
However, this year the Rhyze Award will be more of a mini-grant process rather than a contest.
“What we heard from a lot of the women was that the business application, the business canvas model was very intimidating. A lot of women who are just in a real start-up phase, they don’t identify as a start-up,” said Manes.
The application has changed, offering an easier process for women who only have an idea or are in the early stages of their business. The pithing process has been eliminated as well.
The top 25 applications will be chosen by a panel of judges and brought to a networking event where the top 10 will be chosen. The finalists will have access to mentorships and early access to the Rhyze Academy, a new project to be launched this fall. Each of the finalists will have a marketing video completed throughout the summer and will be showcased at an awards ceremony in September.
“We recognize the successes of what we did (last year) and now it’s kind of looking back at who are the women that we missed in the process and how can we service them,” said Manes.
So far, the group has $10,000 to award, and Manes said organizers are actively looking for more funds. She added centre will be open for application assistance.
“I’m looking for someone who has an idea that they’re really interested in pursuing or if they are already existing in business … I’m open,” she said.
Manes said it is very important to support female entrepreneurs.
“Any community does well and does better when the women in the community are respected, they are treated on an equal playing field,” she said.
Timeline
The application period runs until May 15. Women interested in applying can visit innovationguelph.ca/rhyze-award for more information and the application form.
There will be an application information session on May 12 from 4 to 6pm at Innovation Guelph, 111 Farquhar Street, third floor.
The review process will run from May 15 to 30, with the top 15 chosen in early June. The top 10 will be announced later that month and the Community Celebration Award Ceremony will take place in September.
