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entrepreneurial ecosystem. ISED’s studies show that by removing bar- riers and advancing gender equality, Canada could add up to $150 bil- lion in GDP in 2026. 14 The full and equal participation of all Canadians in the economy is not just the right thing to do; it’s also good for the bottom line. The FoundHers 2020 report, a na- tional market analysis of 1,500 Black women-led organizations in the Canadian business sector, cited that Black women startup founders raise US$36,000 on average, while the average startup raises US$1.3 million. 15 Crunchbase data reports
that Black-owned U.S. companies received $1 billion in venture funding during 2020, and Latinx-owned U.S. companies received $2.7 billion, this is only 0.6% and 1.7%, respectively, of a total pool of $161.4 billion. 16 Matr Ventures, a venture capital firm, sees these social and eco- nomic gaps as a huge opportunity for growth and wants to power the momentum of an increasing num- ber of businesses run by underrep- resented founders who offer varied perspectives to tackling today’s challenges. Matr Ventures invests in seed-stage ventures with early trac- tion or revenues and their mission is
to power underrepresented found- ers’ success via capital and connec- tivity. They invest in founders that are Black, Indigenous, Latinx, per- sons of colour, women, 2SLGBTQ & persons with disabilities. Matr Ven- tures was founded in 2020 based on evidence that underrepresented founders are known to outperform, and yet receive less than 3% of all venture capital funding. Some peo- ple view this as a pipeline problem, Matr Ventures views this as the greatest investment opportunity. Matr Ventures isn’t the only orga- nization focused on funding his- torically underrepresented groups.
14Restart, recover, and reimagine prosperity for all Canadians (2020) www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/062.nsf/eng/00118.html 15 FoundHers Report (2020) foundhers.ca 16Crunchbase Diversity Spotlight Report (2020) about.crunchbase.com/2020-diversity-spotlight-report
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