T H E I N V E S TME N T E N V I RONME N T Pa t hways t o Equ i t y
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communities. There is no band-aid solution to a historical problem, there must be meaningful thought behind it in order to create wealth and foster innovation for years to come. In 2020, there was a notable in- crease in the number of women angel investors. Women comprised 24% of the members of Canadi- an angel organizations in 2020, a 40% increase in 2019 and 2018 (17% women participation) and a 70% increase in 2017 (14%). This is
a reflection of the emergence and the work of women-focused angel investing groups. Women’s Equity Lab and The51 are introducing angel investment to a generation of wom- en founders. The51 is a women-led financial platform and Women’s Eq- uity Lab, Canada’s first all-woman angel fund, has begun a national expansion, bringing their model to communities across the country. Women’s participation in Alberta’s technology companies has stayed strong with the proportion of tech founders at almost 30% women, a
trend consistent with the 2018 Al- berta Technology Deal Flow Study. 18 The current figures indicate the dis- parity with women globally receiv- ing only 2.3% of capital. In 2020, Crunchbase data reported that global venture funding of women-led companies fell by a steep 27%. 19 Access to capital is key to combat- ing gender inequality, and to improve funding for women entrepreneurs it is essential to start at the beginning of the investment pipeline.
18Alberta Technology Deal Flow Study - Alberta Enterprise (2021) www.alberta-enterprise.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AEC-Deal-Flow-Report-2021-April-21.pdf
19Global VC Funding To Female Founders Dropped Dramatically This Year (2020) https://news.crunchbase.com/news/global-vc-funding-to-female-founders
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