Women and Nonbinary Impact Network for Venture Capital

The Women and Nonbinary (W) Impact (I) Network (N) for Venture Capital (VC) | WIN-VC | is a national collaborative of organizations working to provide services, programming, events, and dedicated resources to women and non-binary entrepreneurs and gender lens investors across Canada who are working towards becoming investment ready and increasing the pool of investors driven to invest in these ventures. Pond-Deshpande Centre is the Atlantic delivery partner for this important initiative.

*The “W” in our acronym encompasses and includes all women, including non-binary/genderqueer individuals.

ENTREPRENEURS

Investment-Ready: Designing & deploying a capital strategy for your growing venture that is aligned with you as an entrepreneur and the impact you seek to create

The Pond-Deshpande Centre is collaborating with a national collective of organization to help people who identify as women or non-binary to accelerate their venture capital journey.

Who are you?

How will this program help you?

What will the program entail?

  • An early-stage equity-deserving entrepreneur based in Atlantic Canada
  • You identify as a woman or non-binary
  • You’re considering venture capital, and either not sure about whether it’s right for you, or not sure how to get started in raising that capital
  • You’re considering other accelerators like Propel or CDL Atlantic but aren’t quite ready
  • This program will connect you with a network of like-minded, impact-focused entrepreneurs in Atlantic Canada at a similar stage in their journey
  • Support you in your unique needs as a founder
  • Help you move along the readiness continuum to get ready to raise venture capital
  • The program will consist of 8 training sessions; 1 in person, and 7 virtual over the course of late October 2023 – January 2024
  • You will be provided with 5 hours of executive coaching and mentorship per organization
  • Please express your interest in the form below – we look forward to learning more about you and your organization!
INVESTORS

Rethinking meritocracy: Regional collaboration for a more equitable investment approach to elevate the Atlantic economy

Less than 3% of venture capital in Canada goes to women. As a system, it’s not an easy challenge to address. As an investor, you’re interested in moving the needle, though know that you’re only one piece of a much larger puzzle.

The Pond-Deshpande Centre is collaborating with a national collective of organization to help people who identify as women or non-binary to accelerate their venture capital journey. Helping investors in gender-lens investing is a critical piece of the system.

Atlantic Canada is a well-connected ecosystem – we will be bringing investors together in Fall 2024 for a retreat-style event focused on moving the needle on the sticky statistic of less than 3% of venture capital going to women.

What if Atlantic Canada could lead the country in this regard? If we lead in Canada, we’ll also be leading on the world stage.

Join us if you want to be part of this transformative change.
Our mission is twofold. We aim to uplift women entrepreneurs championing social or environmental impact, and to embolden investors committed to impacting systemic change. We embrace all dimensions of womanhood, including Indigenous women, those in remote areas, BIPOC women, newcomers, LGBTQ2+ individuals, Two-Spirit and genderqueer individuals, and those with disabilities.
We operate within economic sectors like food and agriculture, community real estate, cleantech, and healthcare, tapping into the collective expertise, experiences, and networks of our partners.
We operate within economic sectors like food and agriculture, community real estate, cleantech, and healthcare, tapping into the collective expertise, experiences, and networks of our partners.
Our ultimate objective is to catalyze the growth of women-led enterprises, shattering gender-related barriers and unequivocally demonstrating the investment potential of venture capital. We aspire to drive progress through empowerment, inclusion, and meaningful capital deployment.

We are more than a collective. We are a movement driving transformative change. Join us as we champion innovation, equity, and economic evolution.

WIN-VC acknowledges the support of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada. ISED has awarded funding for the Collective that will make the venture capital environment more inclusive for women by transforming traditional investment processes, processes and knowledge into respectful and meaningful approaches that value equity and impact with a focus on diverse women and non-binary entrepreneurs and SMEs including Black communities, Indigenous peoples, racialized populations, persons with a disability, 2SLGBTQ2+ and new Canadians.