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Montreal, Quebec. Monday, February 26, 2024 - Today, QueerTech - a leading nonprofit organization that helps members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community access and grow within the tech and innovation workforce - announced the strategic acquisition of Gradient Spaces, a Toronto-based nonprofit accelerator for 2SLGBTQ+ startup founders in Canada. Since launching in 2016, QueerTech has empowered more than 10,000 2SLGBTQ+ professionals by fostering entrepreneurship, professional development, and mentorship in the tech industry.
Founded in 2020, Gradient Spaces has developed a community of 2SLGBTQ+ startup founders, allied investors and ecosystem partners aligned around enabling the success of 2SLGBTQ+ innovators. One of Gradient Space’s flagship programs is the Founder Program - a three-month, equity-free incubator designed to build affirming, generative, and joyful spaces that empower queer people to be influential contributors to Canada's innovation economy. The program supports each annual cohort of entrepreneurs through expert-led sessions in subjects ranging from customer discovery and go-to-market strategy development to financial planning and compelling pitch crafting. Founders also receive curated mentorship opportunities with leading investors and industry experts across the startup ecosystem. The program culminates in a final pitch day, where founders meet with specialized investors and funders.
Queer-owned businesses employ over 435,000 Canadians, yet unique barriers experienced by 2SLGBTQ+ founders regularly inhibit their ability to scale, access adequate funding (with less than 1% of venture capital deals going to queer entrepreneurs), and frequently lead to chronic underrepresentation in high growth sectors such as the tech space. QueerTech aims to expand its support of 2SLGBTQ+ business leaders with this acquisition, making a long-term commitment to help ensure the Founder Program can continue its critical work of fostering an inclusive ecosystem where tech and startup founders can thrive irrespective of their backgrounds.
“Gradient Spaces has established itself as the only national accelerator designed by and for members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Since its inception, the organization has developed a strong framework for producing new leadership and deepening the pools of knowledge in the venture space for innovative queer business leaders,” said Naoufel Testaouni, Co-Founder and CEO of QueerTech. “Complimenting QueerTech’s mission of connecting queer professionals and creating clear paths to career growth, this acquisition aims to scale our collective impact via strategic alignment of support expertise and dedicated resource sharing. With this partnership, both organizations have an opportunity to reduce the underrepresentation of the 2SLGBTQ+ community within the technology sector while accelerating economic inclusion across Canada.”
“Gradient Spaces is thrilled to pass the Founder Program baton to an organization that we’ve admired and worked closely with for years. Our missions are closely aligned, and it has been clear from the beginning that our teams both centre shared values in our work every day,” said Alexandra Baccellieri, Director of Gradient Spaces. “The Gradient team has always wanted the best for our community of founders - we believe that with QueerTech’s leadership, this incredible community can expect even more growth. We thank QueerTech for their partnership and wish the team continued ever-growing success!”
As part of the acquisition, QueerTech will maintain key partnerships and explore new opportunities to expand its impact. Further details about the integration of volunteers and strategic plans will be announced in the coming weeks.
To obtain further information or schedule an interview, kindly contact Lauren Hicks at media@queertech.org.