Starting Over: Building a Life and a Legacy in Canada
Tehmina Chaudhry - February 2025
Today, I want to share a story—it's not just any story. It's a story that I hope resonates with many of the women in this room. I want you to go back to 2020 when the world was gripped by the uncertainty of COVID-19, and I had just moved to Canada.
Back then, every morning, I woke up to the sound of my son playing with his toys in a place that still didn’t feel like home. My husband and two older children were still in Pakistan—I no longer saw them in the mornings, no familiar voices filling the space. Outside, the city was frozen in lockdown, its streets empty, its doors closed. And inside, where I knew no one, the days stretched endlessly, waiting for the world to reopen.
I knew no one. We couldn’t go outside our room because the city was in complete lockdown due to COVID-19. The world beyond our walls felt distant, unreachable—just like the life I had left behind.
My journey didn’t start in that room. It began in Karachi, Pakistan, a city as vibrant as it is challenging. I grew up in the chaos of its streets, inspired by the resilience of the women around me—women who fought for their voices to be heard in spaces that often overlooked them. That spirit shaped me.
I co-founded InstaFoods nearly 15 years ago with a mission to reduce food waste and create sustainable solutions. It wasn’t easy being a woman entrepreneur in a place where business was often seen as a man’s domain, but I was determined, and I made it a successful business. That determination carried me to Australia in 2018, where I was selected for an International Business Fellowship. It was there that I decided to expand my business to Canada.
In 2019, I received my letter of support for the Startup Visa program to bring my business to Canada. It felt like a dream coming true; it was the result of years of hard work and persistence. But by the time I arrived in Canada in 2020, the world had changed. Instead of launching my business with confidence, I found myself grappling with the reality of isolation, with no social capital, and all my plans failing.
“It was like starting from zero in a place where I was invisible, with no voice, and no network.”
For six months, I lived in that small apartment, navigating a new country while managing the emotional weight of being away from my family. Each day was filled with small acts of survival—making calls to potential connections, attending virtual events, and trying to understand the Canadian business ecosystem. It was like starting from zero in a place where I was invisible, with no voice, and no network.
I often say that in Canada; to make anything happen, you need to know someone who knows someone. Building those connections became my daily mission. I reached out to anyone who would listen, cold-emailed industry leaders, and joined community events—even when I didn’t feel like I belonged. Slowly, step by step, I began to build a network.
As I met other immigrant entrepreneurs, I realized that my struggles were not unique. So many of us arrived in Canada with dreams and potential but were held back by systemic barriers, a lack of networks, and limited resources. I saw women, especially, feeling unsupported, disconnected, and left to navigate it all on their own and struggling to find their footing in a system that wasn’t built for us. This was my reason to join the WICE program, which has played an important role in my journey. It offered me a community where women could step into leadership roles, and where no one felt they had to navigate this path alone. I learned that every challenge I faced was not unique to me—every immigrant has, in some way, faced the same challenges, and it became clear to me that this was bigger than just my own journey.
“This was my reason to join the WICE program, which has played an important role in my journey.”
This experience gave me an opportunity to grow, to adapt, and to use my experiences to empower others. I learned to trust my voice, to value my story, and to never underestimate the power of connection. It isn’t just about business; it’s about community. It’s about ensuring that women and immigrants have a seat at the table and a voice in shaping the future.
Despite my best efforts, I was not able to establish my business. From that failure, the Canada Startup Association (CSA) was born. I wanted to create what I didn’t have—a platform where immigrant founders could find resources, mentorship, and a community that believed in them. CSA is more than just an organization—it’s a movement. It’s about breaking down barriers, amplifying voices, and creating opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurs to succeed.
Tehmina Chaudhry, Founder of Canada Startup Association
Today, CSA has mentored over 250 startups, hosted events across three countries, and built partnerships with key organizations to support underrepresented founders. What I didn’t get, I now offer to others—a network, a voice, and the belief that their dreams are possible.
Tehmina Chaudhry
Tehmina is the founder of Canada Startup Association which now supports and mentors immigrant founders, helping them navigate challenges and build successful businesses. She has also worked on a research report with SCF that provides deep insights into the systemic barriers that newcomer women face in leadership roles. Tehmina is a mother of two, an entrepreneur and an active member of her community and she hopes to help the BIPOC community through CSA.
