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About
Serbanescu designed wmnsWORK during the pandemic after years building partnerships for tour operators and hotels, saying the industry 'wasn't built for people like me' (Open Jaw, 2022-03-22). It was announced on International Women's Day 2022 as the first tourism-specific accelerator for women and non-binary entrepreneurs in North America, with a first cohort starting May 16, 2022: a 12-week virtual program of weekly master classes, bi-weekly mentor meetings, coaching circles and fireside chats, priced at US$2,500 and capped at 10 participants (PAX News, 2022-03-08). Founding sponsors sherpa and Exodus Travels funded scholarships, and the Adventure Travel Trade Association gave graduates a year's business membership. The program is equity-free and global; by January 2024 it had supported more than 40 businesses from 14 countries (AdventureTravelNews, 2024-02-02), and Serbanescu's 2026 IWTTF speaker bio puts the total at 67 entrepreneurs. Its own site now describes a six-month format, applications for a February 2027 cohort, and lists TourRadar, Intrepid Travel, Explore Worldwide, the IGLTA Foundation, Rokitplace and the UnTours Foundation as 2026 scholarship sponsors. The company's site dates its start to 2021, the year Serbanescu began building it; the first cohort ran in 2022.
Backers
No outside investment announced; founder-run. Scholarship sponsors, not investors: sherpa and Exodus Travels at launch (PAX, 2022-03-08); TourRadar, Intrepid Travel, Explore Worldwide, IGLTA Foundation, Rokitplace and the UnTours Foundation in 2026 (program site)
Quick answers
What does wmnsWORK do?
It runs a cohort-based accelerator for early-stage women and non-binary tourism entrepreneurs: expert-led workshops, one-to-one mentoring, coaching circles and a peer community, aimed mainly at experiential tour operators and hoteliers, with members finishing with a business plan, budget and pitch deck (Open Jaw, 2022-03-22).
Who founded wmnsWORK?
Iris Serbanescu, a Toronto partnerships specialist who was previously director of partnerships at TourRadar and manager of trade development at Bannikin (PAX News, 2022-03-08). The program's own site and her 2026 IWTTF bio name her as founder.
When did it start?
The company's site says 2021, when Serbanescu began building it. The program was announced on March 8, 2022 and the first cohort started May 16, 2022 (PAX News); ATTA dates the launch to January 2022.
Has wmnsWORK presented at TechTO?
No. Its founder appeared on a TechTO virtual session in May 2020, two years before the program existed, representing TourRadar.