From Idea to Impact: Fast-Track your business vision

Welcome to our exciting event where we'll help you turn your business ideas into reality.

Got an idea but not sure how to turn it into something real? This hands-on session with expert facilitator and community leader Serah Gazali will help you move from concept to action—fast.

Learn how to sharpen your vision, test your assumptions before you invest big, and build unstoppable momentum without getting stuck in endless planning.

Designed for women of colour, immigrant founders, and professionals ready to turn their side-hustle into a thriving business.

Who are we: Immigrant Women Initiative (IWI) is a Canadian collective and community platform to equip, support and propel the professional journeys and entrepreneurial ambitions of racialized women. We are a grassroots community creating a safe and supportive environment where immigrant women can thrive professionally through career opportunities and building their small business. Launched in 2023, we are closing the gender equity gap by meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We do this through monthly professional development workshops, events and networking engagements curated specifically through feedback from the community. IWI stands as an inclusive ecosystem with an ambitious goal: to foster an economically prosperous future forevery woman in Canada.

About the workshop facilitator: Serah Gazali is a leader in the equity space with over a decade of experience in research, policy design, and program evaluation. As Executive Lead at CCGBA+, she builds high-performing teams, forges strategic partnerships, and connects research with lived experiences to drive outcomes for underrepresented groups.

She has led national initiatives like the 50-30 Challenge, supporting over 2,700 businesses to enhance DEI capacities, and oversaw operations that helped resettle 3,000 Syrian refugees across Canada.

Serah specializes in data-driven, intersectional approaches to policy and program evaluation and has implemented GBA+ frameworks across sectors. She holds a Master’s in Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice (UBC) and certifications in Strategic HR Management (SFU) and Organizational Leadership (Harvard).

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