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Victoria, British Columbia March 8, 2022 – Women’s Equity Lab (“WEL”) is pleased to announce that after an extensive search, Glynnis Vaughan has joined the organization as the new National Program Manager. Glynnis will focus on leveraging opportunities to manage the rapid expansion of WEL Investment Groups across North America. Glynnis’ position was funded by a federal government grant awarded by Women and Gender Equality Canada.

In addition to the operational Investment Groups in Victoria, Vancouver and Okanagan, Toronto recently launched as well and is looking to make its first investment soon.

“WEL was created to address the chronic and systemic under-representation of women in early-stage investing,” says Jane Tucker, a GP with WEL Toronto. “And the reaction to our newly formed Toronto Investment Group (which now has a 50-person waiting list), has been very enthusiastic. We’re proud to celebrate the momentum behind WEL on International Women’s Day and can’t wait to see what happens when more and more women are helping to shape the future of our economy.” Continue reading “Women’s Equity Lab Celebrates International Women’s Day with National Hire, as new Toronto Investment Group takes off”

Victoria, British Columbia, July 14, 2021 – Women’s Equity Lab (WEL), Canada’s first all-female angel fund is expanding across North America. WEL was first launched in Victoria in 2017 with the support of the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and has recently completed the investment of its third round. The Vancouver chapter was launched in 2020 followed by the Okanagan in early 2021. New groups are currently setting-up in Toronto, Winnipeg and Silicon Valley. To support the roll-out, WEL has just finished a complete rebrand and launched a new website at www.womensequitylab.com to help businesses apply for funding and for investors to find a WEL fund in their region. Continue reading “Women’s Equity Lab – Canada’s First All-Female Angel Fund Expands Across North America”

Fewer than 20 per cent of Canadian angel investors are women. Women’s Equity Lab has set out to shift that statistic, helping women learn the ins and outs of investing and to make money while they’re at it.

Women’s Equity Lab (WEL) is a Victoria-born innovation that gathers local women to pool their money to invest in early-stage startups. Members — 23 in the first round, 20 in the current round — meet regularly to learn how to invest in companies, discuss opportunities, vet deal flow and make investment decisions. In the most recent round, each participant invested a minimum of $6,000 for a pool of $100,000, which was then used to co-invest in companies the group thinks will generate the best return.

Regina-based Brew Ninja, a microbrewery management software company, has raised C$650,000 in seed-stage financing.

Regina, Saskatchewan-based Brew Ninja, a microbrewery management software company, has raised C$650,000 in seed-stage financing. The round was led by Maple Leaf Angels, with participation from Women’s Equity Lab, Capital Angel Network, York Angels, and VenturX.

Twenty-five women have formed a new Okanagan angel investment fund that will focus on correcting the gender imbalance faced by women owned businesses when seeking investment and increase the number of women who are active start-up company investors.

“To mark International Women’s Day, the new Okanagan Women’s Mentoring and Angel Network (WMAN) will begin accepting applications from women founded, led or co-led businesses from the Okanagan region,” says Co-founder and General Partner, Camille Saltman. “Our goal is to increase the number of women angel investors, remedy the gender gap in start-up funding and aid women business owners who are bearing the brunt of economic fallout from the pandemic.”