BDC Capital’s $200 million Women in Technology Venture Fund (WIT) is one of the world’s largest venture capital funds solely dedicated to investing in women-led technology companies. It serves as the investment arm of BDC— Canada’s only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs.
The Fund recently announced four newly completed deals in various industries, all women led. These additions bring the Fund’s portfolio to 14.
“The goal of BDC Capital’s WIT venture fund is simple: Invest in great entrepreneurs and teams where women lead, that build globally competitive businesses that deliver returns,” stated Michelle Scarborough, Managing Director, Strategic Investments and Women in Technology Venture Fund, BDC Capital in a press statement.
The four recently funded ventures are:
AvenueHQ and co-founder and COO Rebecca Troelstra: Empowers real estate professionals across North America by combining technology and an advanced marketing team to create meaningful relationships,
Lufa Farms and co-founder Lauren Rathmell: An urban farm-to-table e-commerce platform for the produce it grows in rooftop greenhouses, selling same-day harvests, and delivering sustainably grown produce and other locally-sourced premium goods direct to consumers,
tealbook and CEO Stephany Lapierre: An AI-powered supplier knowledge management and discovery platform. Turns static supplier databases into dynamic and intelligent communities to help organizations make faster and better supplier decisions, and
Unsplash and co-founder Stephanie Liverani: The first platform to offer exclusively curated, world-class photography free for any use. Over 50 million creators download over 239 million photos a year, making it the most used image asset platform in the world.
WIT has a number of initiatives in place to support women entrepreneurs who they see as vibrant contributors to a diverse entrepreneurial tech ecosystem. It includes mentorship, advice, networking and other tools needed for success such as the WIT Technology Boot Camp. The Boot Camp connects pre-seed and seed stage technology companies with peers, investors and other experts while hosting a half-day workshop for the scaling of a tech start-up.
“By investing in strong teams and companies where women lead we are leading the way in VC by opening up the path for women leaders to gain confidence in securing venture capital to accelerate the growth of their business, drive competitiveness, and ultimately create large companies that spur a new culture of diversity and inclusion that sits at the foundation for any good business culture,” Scarborough also said.
