FrontFundr, Canada’s leading online private markets investment platform, and The51, a Financial Feminist™ platform that promotes democratized access to capital for women-led businesses, announced today the launch of a new collaborative pilot that will see promising startups and growth companies featured on both platforms. By working together, the two organizations hope to address the gaps that exist in access to early-stage capital, and thus create a more accessible and inclusive investment ecosystem for entrepreneurs and investors alike.
This collaboration will begin with a select group of women-led organizations highlighted on both The51 and FrontFundr’s platforms. This approach is designed to help increase awareness and distribution for the companies’ fundraising campaigns, by giving them joint access to both The51’s community of 10,000+ and FrontFundr’s investor community of over 20,000 members. Users will be able to access and invest in these campaigns online, in a simple and straightforward way, from as little as $250.
This collaboration was developed around a shared mandate focused on championing women founders and investors to unlock the investment potential of the wider community. This stems from women’s unequal access to funding and capital—one that’s been exacerbated by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, women-led startups receive less than three percent of venture capital available worldwide and represent a mere 12 percent of venture capitalists.
“The collaboration between FrontFundr and The51 is a chance to further The51’s mission to democratize access to women-led capital by opening up investment opportunities to those who traditionally might not fall into an accredited investor category,” explains Shelley Kuipers, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of The51. “Additionally, we know that women’s spending power is also influential capital and by voting with their dollars can support missions that are purposeful but also companies that are delivering products and services designed for them.”
“A lot more needs to be done to address the inequalities that exist when it comes to capital raising and investing, and one of the most obvious and urgent areas for improvement is providing women-led businesses and women investors with equal access and opportunity,” says Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Founder and CEO of FrontFundr. “Our mission as a business is to democratize access to the private markets for all Canadians, and so we could not be more excited to launch this partnership with the51, and so further help to deliver on this all-important mission.”
The first group of companies to be co-listed in the platform includes:
You can learn more about our collaboration, our shared values, and future plans on the official landing page.
This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy any securities.
Giving everyone access to early-stage startup investing.
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