Women’s Equity Lab (WEL) Manitoba backs Aurea in third investment in Fund 3
Maritime clean energy company with upcoming product distribution in major North American retailers joins a portfolio spanning medtech, consumer health, SaaS, and hardware
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA – OCTOBER 15, 2026: Women’s Equity Lab (“WEL”), a national network of investment funds that fast tracks women into angel investing in Canada, today announced WEL Manitoba’s third Fund 3 investment: Aurea Technologies Inc. (“Aurea”), the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia company behind the portable wind-powered turbine called Shine.
Aurea’s Shine turbine collapses to roughly the size of a water bottle, weighs three pounds, and delivers wind energy to charge everything from phones, tablets, and lights to portable power stations.
Founded in 2017 by Chief Executive Officer Cat Adalay and co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer Rachel Carr, the company holds patents in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, has a customer return rate under 1%, and has signed retail agreements with some of the largest retailers in the U.S. and Canada. In May 2026, Aurea was named one of Canada’s Top Moonshot Ventures™ of 2026 at the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) Canada Summit.
“I watched Cat pitch the Aurea story and was deeply impressed by her business acumen,” said Katie Hall Hursh, Managing Partner, WEL Manitoba. “She is a mechanical engineer who is also an exceptional business operator, with one successful exit before Aurea under her belt. WEL Manitoba is backing a founder we believe in, a product that works, and a trajectory we can see.”
Aurea was first backed by WEL Atlantic. Katie Hall Hursh, Managing Partner of WEL Manitoba, saw Adalay pitch at an angel investing summit earlier this year, and brought the company to Manitoba’s deal flow committee on the strength of that pitch.
The due diligence process was led by Johanna Chipman, and for Aurea, that included a site visit to the company’s Nova Scotia operation this past summer.
“WEL prides itself on going beyond just writing a cheque. We do far more than just read the pitch deck. Seeing Aurea’s facilities, meeting Cat and her team, and experiencing their operations firsthand was another point of confidence in WEL Manitoba moving toward making this investment,” shared Chipman.
WEL Manitoba’s Fund 3 closed fully subscribed in May 2026 at $310,000 CDN with 62 limited partners, the largest investor group of any WEL fund to date. Most are investing in the asset class for the first time. Every deal is assessed by a due diligence team composed of WEL Manitoba investors.
“Equity financing is the hardest money to reach for Atlantic Canadian startups, and Women’s Equity Lab is mobilizing private capital not just in that region but across the country,” said Cat Adalay, CEO and Founder, Aurea Technologies. “Being backed by 62 women investors, most of them new to angel investing, tells you something about where Canadian capital is starting to move.”
Since 2017, WEL’s community of more than 500 women investors has deployed $7 million of their own capital across 97 investments in 75 companies, 72% of them women-led. Those companies have created more than 300 jobs, and WEL’s active portfolio of companies reflect a combined reported valuation of approximately $780 million. WEL investors now represent 25% of the women angel investors and 10% of all angel investors in Canadian networks.
The gap they are closing remains wide. Women own 21% of Canadian businesses, but female founders receive less than 4% of venture capital nationally, according to Queen’s Smith School of Business. Fewer than 17% of angel investors in Canada are women, per Women and Gender Equality Canada, even as Canadian women are projected to control approximately $4 trillion in private wealth by 2028. Public support for WEL has returned $5 in new private angel capital for every dollar invested.
“Five dollars of private capital for every public dollar is not a projection, it is what has already happened,” said Ariel Siller, Board Director, Women’s Equity Lab. “Manitoba shows what that looks like on the ground. Sixty-two women, most of them first-time investors, are now backing Canadian companies across medtech, consumer health and clean energy. That capital was not in this asset class five years ago.”
WEL Manitoba’s wider portfolio is producing results. Advertising technology company Taiv ranked #4 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 for 2025 and became the largest recipient of PrairiesCan’s Business Scale-up and Productivity program in July 2026. Fertility company Bird&Be announced a $13M USD Series A on September 22, 2026, co-led by the Business Development Bank of Canada’s Thrive Fund and BFG Partners. femtherapeutics had its Prolapse Support Pessary recognized by Fast Company’s Health and Wellness Design awards in July 2026, alongside Boston Scientific and Pfizer. Organic period care company Marlow partnered with The JUNO Awards to set a new standard for period care at live events in March 2026, and both Marlow and Taiv were named to NACO Canada’s Top Moonshot VenturesTM list in May 2026. Ginger Desk was acquired by healthtech company Jane App in June 2026.
To contact WEL Manitoba, reach out to manitoba@womensequitylab.com.
ABOUT WOMEN’S EQUITY LAB
Women’s Equity Lab (“WEL”) is a national network of women angel investors in Canada. The WEL investment model was built to challenge and change the outdated norms of early-stage investing where women have historically been underrepresented. It activates women’s capital by addressing traditional barriers to angel investing such as access to deal flow, specialized expertise, and gender bias. Our Learning on Investment™ (“LOI”) approach allows women to start investing while building expertise alongside a network of peers.
Since launching in 2017, WEL has grown into a bold and influential community of over 500 women investors, activating over $7 million in capital, including co-investments, across 97 investments in more than 75 early-stage companies. In the innovation economy where capital is power, WEL women are using theirs to shape the future they want to see. We’re not asking for equal representation. We’re building it. For more information about Women’s Equity Lab, visit womensequitylab.com.
ABOUT WOMEN’S EQUITY LAB MANITOBA
Women’s Equity Lab (“WEL”) Manitoba was founded in 2023 to bring the WEL model to women investors in the province. Operating as an investment group of the national Women’s Equity Lab network, WEL Manitoba sets its own local investment thesis and invests in Manitoba and across Canada, while drawing on the deal flow, mentorship, and collective expertise of WEL members network-wide. Its third fund closed fully subscribed in May 2026 with 62 limited partners, the largest investor group of any WEL fund to date. To learn more, visit womensequitylab.com/manitoba or contact manitoba@womensequitylab.com.
ABOUT AUREA TECHNOLOGIES INC.
Aurea Technologies is a female-led clean tech company on a mission to deliver energy independence by making wind power portable, accessible, and easy to use. Its patented Shine Turbine collapses to the size of a water bottle and charges devices anywhere the wind blows. The company’s portable wind energy solutions serve a range of applications, from outdoor recreation and emergency preparedness to emerging uses in defence and disaster relief. Founded in 2017, Aurea is based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Learn more at aureatechnologies.com.
MEDIA INQUIRIES
WEL Manitoba
manitoba@womensequitylab.com
Aurea Technologies
vanessaferguson@aureatechnologies.com