Genesis, the St. John’s startup house affiliated with Memorial University, has been on a mission to increase diversity among the companies it supports. And it’s generating some data that highlight its success.

For a few years, CEO Michelle Simms and her staff have been working on ways to nurture more startups either founded by women and newcomers, or with such people in senior positions. The organization has several programs to launch and nurture entrepreneurs, and the people within these programs are being populated increasingly by women and/or minorities.

“In our Genesis Enterprise Program, 44 percent of the companies are founded by foreigners,” Dyanna McCarthy, Coordinator of the Women in Technology and Start-Up Visa programs, said in an interview. “That’s a statistic that we’re very proud of.”

The diversity is showing up in some of the high profile companies that have gone through the incubator in the past few years. For example, HeyOrca, headed by Malaysian-born CEO Joe Teo, now has annual recurring revenue of $3 million. And one of the highest profile young founders is Emily Bland of SucSeed, who was recently accepted into the Next Canada program for dynamic students from across Canada.

McCarthy and Angelo Casanas, Director of Programs and Partnerships, also said one-quarter of the stage companies now in Genesis’ Evolution program, in which early-stage companies are tutored, are headed by people from other countries.

3 Takeaways from a Recent Visit to St. John's 

The pair has been working on improving the diversity at the organization, which recently moved to a new location overlooking St. John’s Harbour on Signal Hill. One program they have used is the federal government’s Startup Visa program, in which immigrant entrepreneurs can receive permanent resident status if they move their companies to Canada.

Genesis is a qualified sponsor, and in June 2017 the organization launched its own program to help foreign founders apply for visas. It received 400 inquiries and four of its companies were accepted into the Startup Visa program. One applicant, Sizwe Dhlamini, has already received his permanent residency status. His company Power HV produces advanced bushings, an insulated product used in electricity transmission.

McCarthy, who worked for four-and-a-half years with the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries, joined Genesis earlier this year to focus on diversity. She was charged not only with developing curriculum to support female and immigrant founders but also with researching what other jurisdictions have done to promote entrepreneurship in these groups.

She also oversees the Women in Technology program in St. John's, which had 10 members in 2013 and now has an enrollment of 130 women. 

In the interview, McCarthy credited Michelle Simms for the advances.

“Michelle was a driving force,” said McCarthy. “She looked around and she made it a priority to increase diversity in the community."