The51's co-founders, Judy Fairburn and Shelley Kuipers, in Calgary in 2021.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The51, a Canadian venture capital fund that focuses on investing in female-led companies, is launching its third fund, lining up Bank of Montreal as its lead investor.
The Calgary-based firm is looking to raise $30-million in total, and has already lined up 17 female co-anchors alongside BMO, including AGF Management Ltd. chief executive officer Judy Goldring, former Bank of Nova Scotia executive Gillian Riley and Seafair Capital CEO Anne Whelan, showing a breadth of support from Canadian businesswomen who want to invest in other women.
The51 launched in 2019 and its primary goal is to direct capital to female-led companies. Currently, women founders receive only 2 to 4 per cent of venture capital in Canada, according its research.
One of The51’s guiding principles is that “capital builds ownership, ownership creates influence, and influence drives systemic progress.”
The51’s co-founders, Shelley Kuipers and Judy Fairburn, have described their firm as both a fund manager and an investment collective that runs networking events and education workshops. On Monday, The51 is hosting its XX Summit in Calgary, following similar events in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.
Panel topics at the event include Navigating the Invisible Load, marketed as “a clear-eyed look at layered responsibility, children, parents, careers,” and Women Funded by Private Equity, a discussion about how fresh capital “fundamentally changes the business, the pace, and you as a leader.”
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In an interview, Ms. Kuipers said closing the funding gap for women remains a core element of The51’s mission, and stressed that directing more capital to female founders is crucial for Canada’s economy as the federal government retools amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. Ultimately, it drives growth, she said.
The51’s first two funds wrapped up fundraising in 2020 and 2022, respectively, and 81 per cent of their portfolio companies are led by women CEOs.
The third fund will focus on three areas of investment: health, wealth and work. Ms. Kuipers said all three are categories where women are the primary consumers yet the most underinvested founders.
The health bucket consists of technology advancing reproductive, mental and age-related health; the wealth bucket will focus on tools that support personal and professional financial management; and the work bucket will invest in opportunities that reimagine how work is structured and delivered, such as flexible work models and platforms that drive career growth and caregiving balance.
Ms. Riley, the former Scotiabank executive, summarized the mission and her support in a statement noting that “women in Canada deserve equal access to venture capital, and that women are stronger when they build together.”
“We are putting real dollars behind women-led companies, and we are building a community where founders, investors, and champions show up for each other – because access to capital and access to community should never be out of reach for any woman," she added.