Rising Sisters Canada is founded on a simple but radical belief: that women and gender diverse people who are struggling economically are not the problem. The systems built around them are.
Founded in 2026 by Katerina Daniel, a single mother, executive leader, and committed feminist who spent twenty years watching decisions made about women's economic lives without their full participation, realities and voices at the centre.
At Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne, Katerina sat with women who were doing what she had long believed was possible: building income security, on their own terms, in a country not unlike Canada. The proof was right there. Not a theory. Not a pilot. A decade of real women, real businesses, and real lives changed.
Our Story
Australia and Canada share more than geography can explain: comparable social infrastructure, similar values around equity and inclusion, and the same stubborn gap between what women are told is possible and what the systems around them actually allow. Seeing a model working there made one thing undeniable. Rising Sisters Canada is the answer to that moment.
The Model
We are inspired by the Global Sisters model which was designed from the outset to be scalable. At its core, it works because it meets women where they are, walks alongside them for the long term, and builds community rather than dependency.
What sets the model apart from most business support programs:
Long-term support: programs run for three or more years, because it takes time to build a sustainable business around real life circumstances.
Peer community at the centre: women support each other, creating a collective accountability that no single program delivers alone.
Sustainable pace: women invest time, resources, and effort gradually. The model does not see risk-taking and rapid scaling as virtues. It sees resilience and sustainability as the goal.
To support women and gender diverse people facing barriers to economic participation to build income security through micro-enterprise, peer community, and self-determination.
Our Mission
Dignity first
No judgement. No requirement to divulge uncomfortable details. Every person who comes to us is met as a whole person, not a problem to be solved.
Self-determination
We believe women know what they need. Our role is to walk alongside, not to direct. We support women to drive their own outcomes, building confidence and capability rather than dependency.
Community over competition
Economic security is not a scarce resource. When one woman rises, she creates pathways for others. We build collective strength, not individual competition.
Systemic honesty
Individual circumstances matter. But so does the system. We name structural barriers honestly, because pretending they don't exist doesn't help anyone.
Inclusive by design
Canada's gender diverse community faces some of the steepest economic barriers of any group in this country. Our community is built for everyone who has been excluded from economic life because of who they are.
Our Values
Katerina Daniel is a single mother, second-generation Canadian, feminist advocate, and senior executive with twenty years of experience in federal policy, strategic communications, partnerships and organizational change.
Her path to public and community service began when, as a young mother re-entering the workforce, she launched her own communications consulting business. Before joining the federal public service, she coached entrepreneurs at the early stages of business development, and developed partnership tools for federal international trade experts to better serve Canadians.
As a single mother, Katerina started the path to financial security for her family by purchasing her own home despite being on a very tight budget and struggling to manage the stress of a demanding career and three busy children.
That experience, and the years of experiencing how policy and programs that were built upon assumptions that didn't match the reality of women's lives, brought her to build Rising Sisters Canada. Over the years of her career, she also led and served on boards of directors for community organizations.
Our Founder
Founder, Rising Sisters Canada