In the transition towards a lower-carbon economy, technologies that address climate change — known as climate tech innovation — are more critical than ever.
Sarah Goodman, CEO of NorthX Climate Tech, a B.C.-based non-profit whose mandate is to back the builders of climate hard tech — tangible, science-driven solutions that cut emissions or help us adapt to climate change — believes Canada is uniquely positioned to lead in this important space.
“Canada has the talent and the track record to lead here,” she said. “With deep expertise in energy and natural resources, we’re already building world-class climate solutions. The market opportunity is enormous — and we should be winning globally.”
One major segment of the talent pool that is often overlooked are women-led climate startups.
Sarah Goodman, CEO of NorthX Climate Tech
“We know that globally only about 2% of venture funding goes to women-led ventures,” said Goodman. “We are not going to solve the climate challenge or maximize our economic opportunities if we leave half the team at home,” she said.
That’s where NorthX’s Women in Climate Tech Call For Innovation comes in. Together with Scotiabank, through its subsidiary Roynat Capital and The Scotiabank Women Initiative® (SWI), NorthX is uniting a community of innovators with financial experts dedicated to helping more women-led companies grow and lead.
“We know that unlocking Canada’s innovation economy means helping entrepreneurs overcome the barriers that stand in their way,” said David Rozin, Vice President and Head, Technology & Innovation Banking, Roynat Capital. “Women founders in climate tech are important to that success.”
The competition
The NorthX Women in Climate Tech Call For Innovation competition invites women-led climate-focused startups from across Canada to apply for funding and support.
The entry process involves a short application and video submission followed by a more rigorous review of selected candidates. From there, finalists receive tailored mentorship, investor exposure, and the opportunity to secure capital to scale their solutions. The next Call for Innovation opens in January, but the previous round was competitive.
“We had close to 60 applications, and we set the bar high like we always do,” said Goodman.
“We combine our team’s review with additional third-party technical analysis because some of these projects are very technical,” she said.
Ultimately, NorthX invested $2.45 million in five companies that emerged during the previous Call for Innovation as the best and most investable, selected for their potential to deliver scalable climate solutions and economic benefit:
Agora Energy Technologies – Turning carbon dioxide into clean power by combining capture, purification and conversion in a one step process.
Ayrton Energy Inc. – Making hydrogen easier to move and store using today’s fuel infrastructure.
EnviCore Inc. – Transforming industrial waste into low carbon cement alternatives.
Gaia Refinery – Removing carbon at scale with a plug-and-play system for bio-industries.
Seacork Studio Inc. – Creating carbon-negative building materials from seaweed.
Goodman said she was “blown away by the quality of responses” from these women founders.
“By supporting women founders in clean tech, we are not only investing in businesses — we are investing in a better future for all Canadians,” she said.
The business case for advancing gender equity is compelling. According to the MaRS Discovery District, increasing the number of women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by just 10% could contribute an estimated $198 billion to Canada’s GDP.
Breaking barriers for women founders
Women entrepreneurs face well-documented barriers in accessing capital and networks.
Goodman emphasized the importance of creating a platform where women founders in clean tech — which refers to the broader umbrella of technologies designed to reduce or avoid harm to the environment — can access the capital, mentorship, and confidence they need to scale. She notes that women often face not just a pay gap, but a confidence gap, asking for too little when pitching, even when their technology has massive potential.
A partnership for impact
With support from SWI, the Women in Climate Tech Call for Innovation offers the selected ventures with tailored programming, mentorship, pitch training, and exposure to investors, plus promotional business banking account offers for non-Scotiabank clients.
“What makes the Scotiabank partnership unique is that it goes beyond the money,” Goodman said. “We are working together to better understand the challenges women founders truly face. Support from Scotiabank provides pitch training, organized roundtables with investors, and wrap-around supports that are absolutely critical here.”
NorthX itself has become one of the largest climate hard tech funders in Canada. Since its inception in 2021, the non-profit organization has invested nearly $48.3 million across 80 projects, helping create more than 900 jobs and catalyzing $475 million in follow-on investment.
Climate innovation
Canada is second only to the U.S. in climate innovation, says Goodman, citing recent research by MaRS Discovery District, but added the challenge is to move past pilots and scale companies globally.
“So often we see Canadian companies having to look abroad for their first customer and then come back home and sell to Canadian customers only once they’ve been proven successful elsewhere,” she said.
Getting past this step requires visionaries who can turn big ideas into scalable solutions confidently, and Canadian investors who believe in their potential.
“With the right public-private partnerships and with institutions like Scotiabank providing the financial support these ventures need as they scale, we can build companies here at home that can be leaders in international markets too,” she said.
