Rhyze® is a movement to cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of women and elevate their businesses
The Roots of Rhyze®
Rhyze® is inspired by the rhizome, a root system that some plants use to grow. Unlike most plants, the rhizome grows horizontally underground. The rhizome sends shoots up from its nodes, growing what appear to be separate plants. These seemingly unrelated individual plants are connected through a system that’s not immediately visible. Rhizomes are connected, resilient and determined: just like women.
All Rhyze programming is inclusive and includes women and those who identify as women.
Vision
Rhyze® is a movement to cultivate women entrepreneurs, elevate their businesses and move the needle for women-founders.
Mission Statement
Based on the interconnected nature of Rhizome root systems, Rhyze® Programming provides a holistic approach that includes education, mentorship and project work in tandem with leadership skills and strong networks/connections to elevate women-identifying entrepreneurs to the next stage.
Rhyze is a movement to cultivate women entrepreneurs, elevate their businesses and move the needle for women-founded businesses. This initiative continues to evolve. Here are some earlier programs provided by Innovation Guelph under the Rhyze banner.
The Rhyze Project engaged over 300 women in critical research to help identify, design and develop resources for women entrepreneurs. This work laid the foundation for the evolution of Rhyze programming.
The Rhyze Award was an annual award that provided funding and mentorship to local women entrepreneurs. Eligibility Requirements were established, and women entrepreneurs pitched for cash awards to fund their businesses and obtain support for the longer-term. The Rhyze Award was sponsored by Meridian Credit Union and partially funded by Guelph’s celebration of International Women’s Day. The Rhyze Awards were held in June 2019 for the last time.
Rhyze On the Road was a program for teenaged girls, with the goal of strengthening leadership, self-care and confidence. This weekly innovative program focused on creating a safe space for young women was sponsored by the Cowan Foundation and co-delivered by Innovation Guelph and the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition.
Rhyze is on Twitter! Follow @therhyzeproject for project updates, events and entrepreneurial news!
We gratefully acknowledge the sponsors that made these projects possible, including our founding Rhyze sponsor, Meridian Credit Union
Learn more about our current Rhyze™ programming:
The Rhyze Venture Program combines learning, doing, and targerted hand-on expertise to help Ontario’s women-led businessess thrive.
The Rhyze Up! national accelerator helps women-founded or co-founded small to medium enterprises (SME) scale up.