Applications are open today to become one of four women running small businesses to earn an a $15,000 CAD grant and access to a mentorship program led by PepsiCo Foods Canada and Frito-Lay
TORONTO, September 22, 2022 /CNW/ – As a company founded by women, the Stacy’s brand believes in celebrating and supporting women with an entrepreneurial passion. For the first time, the snack brand is launching the Stacy’s Rise Project™ in Canada as part of its ongoing efforts to support women entrepreneurs who still lack resources to help them rise.
From today until October 28, 2022, Canadian women who run small businesses can apply to the Stacy’s Rise Project™ at www.stacysriseproject.ca. Four recipients are selected who a $15,000 CAD grant and gain access to a unique mentoring opportunity with PepsiCo Foods Canada and Frito-Lay leaders from around the world North America to help them grow their business.
“After a successful launch in the US in 2019, we are proud to expand the Stacy’s Rise project and begin our journey Canada where there are more than 1.1 million entrepreneurs. Across the country, women-owned companies receive an estimated 4% of VC funding, so we know there’s more to do,” she said Jess Spaulding, Chief Marketing Officer of PepsiCo Foods Canada. “It’s important that programs like the Stacy’s Rise Project continue to expand so that more women can get the support they need through funding, mentoring and resources.”
The Stacy’s Rise Project™ has partnered with the Women’s Enterprise Organizations to launch in Canada Canada (WEOC), an authority on women’s entrepreneurship in the country. Together, the organizations aim to address the unique challenges women face and support them on their journey to starting a successful business through funding, mentoring and community.
“Despite the many obstacles women entrepreneurs face in Canada and the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, women continue to play a leading role in leading new businesses, creating jobs and driving innovation,” she said Alison KirklandCEO of Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada. “Supporting women entrepreneurs is an essential part of the recovery and growth of our national economy, and it’s programs like the Stacy’s Rise Project that bring us closer to gender parity in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
Based on a 2022 Maru/Blue study commissioned by the Stacy’s brand, nearly 9 in 10 Canadians (87 percent) agree there needs to be more support and resources (like funding and mentoring programs). to support women entrepreneurs Canada.
Additionally, only about half of Canadian women entrepreneurs are aware of the support programs available to them (51 percent) or believe they have a strong support and mentoring network (52 percent). With programs like the Stacy’s Rise Project™, it’s important to continue to give more Canadian entrepreneurs access to the resources they need.
About the Stacy’s Rise project™
Since 2017, Stacy’s Pita Chips has connected and almost taken care of thousands of women across the United States $1,000,000 in funding, in addition to resources and mentoring to nurture the leaders who help our communities thrive. The Stacy’s Rise Project™ was launched in the US in 2019 and has since supported and provided over 50 women founders $450,000 (USD) in grants. This is the first year the program has been expanded Canada in the brand’s efforts to support women entrepreneurs everywhere North America.
This year the project will also release a short film directed by a Canadian film director Nisha Ganatra and tells of the Punjabi-Canadian best-selling poet Rupi Kaur. The film will feature four former Stacy’s Rise recipients and the stories of their struggle and success as entrepreneurs to bring to light the resilience and steadfastness it takes to propel us into the future.
The film is being produced in collaboration with Hello Sunshine, a media company founded by the actress Reese Witherspoon with the goal of creating and discovering content that celebrates women.
For more information about the program, visit: www.stacysriseproject.ca.
Stacy’s Woman Founded Story
A woman-founded company that has grown from a sandwich truck to a nationwide distributor, the Stacy’s brand builds on its legacy of helping women rise through the Stacy’s Rise Project™.
When StacyMadison started making pita chips in her sandwich truck Boston, she knew that passion, hard work and only using quality ingredients was what her customers deserved. Stacy made baked pita chips every day and gave them out as free samples to customers waiting in line for their sandwiches. The samples were an instant hit and Stacy’s Pita Chips was founded shortly thereafter in 1997.
Now, more than two decades later, the brand is still committed to its values and does what it takes to make the best snacks. True to the brand’s history as a woman-founded company, the Stacy’s Rise Project™ was created to help today’s female entrepreneurs through mentoring, grants and community.
About Stacy’s
Stacy’s is one of the many brands that are forming Frito-Lay North Americathe 17 billion dollars Convenience food division of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP) headquartered in Purchase, New York. Learn more about Frito-Lay on the company’s website at http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed more than a billion times a day by consumers in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion of net sales in 2021, driven by a portfolio of complementary beverages and convenience foods that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable food and beverages, including many iconic brands that have more than 1 billion dollars each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to become the global leader in beverages and ready meals by winning PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our end-to-end strategic transformation that focuses on sustainability and human capital, how we create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people. For more information visit www.pepsico.com.
About PepsiCo Foods Canada
PepsiCo Foods Canada consists of Frito Lay Canada and Quaker Canada. The Company employs over 6,000 Canadians with seven manufacturing facilities and coast-to-coast sales and distribution facilities. Frito Lay Canada is the country’s largest snack food manufacturer and its brands include Lay’s®, Doritos®, Tostitos®, Ruffles®, Smartfood® and Cheetos®. Quaker’s portfolio of brands includes a wide range of whole grain cereals, oatmeal, rice and corn snacks and snack bars, as well as other well-known brands such as Life®, Quaker Chewy®, Harvest Crunch® and Crispy Minis®. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.ca.
About WEOC
women’s business organizations of Canada is a leading voice in the women’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and supports diverse membership in organizations that directly impact the growth and success of women entrepreneurs. For more informations, www.weoc.ca.
For more information please contact: Sarah HoffmanCitizen Relations – [email protected]
SOURCE PepsiCo Foods Canada
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