The Women’s Equity Lab Atlantic Investment Group, or WEL Atlantic, an angel capital organization launched early last year, has closed its first fund and opened a second, for which it has raised $250,000 from 50 investors.

Fund 1, which had 38 investors, spent a total of $190,000 to back four companies: New Brunswick’s Uresta, which makes a device to prevent bladder leakage, and Halifax-based Aurea Technologies,  Hollo Medical, and Myomar Molecular. Aurea has developed portable wind turbines, Hollo is trialing an improved spacer for asthma inhalers and Myomar is developing a using test to monitor muscle health. The managing partners for Fund 1 were Andrea King, Lauren Ledwell, Laurie MacKeigan and Kathryn Lockhart.

Fund 2, meanwhile, will be managed by Lockhart, CEO of virtual startup incubator Propel, Laurie McKeigan, president of Blackman Vidcom, Nasdaq alum Johanna Brown and Natasha Fletcher of commercial real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Atlantic.

“We learned a lot throughout the first fund and are so excited to see so much interest from investors to grow our support for local entrepreneurs,” said the managing partners for the second fund. “We are also thrilled that nearly 60 percent of our LPs are continuing from Fund 1."

WEL Atlantic is the East Coast affiliate of the Victoria, B.C.-based Women’s Equity Lab, which was founded in 2017 and provides support services to angel groups focused on backing female founders, with 70 percent of WEL investments being in women-led companies. WEL Atlantic is one of two member organizations, alongside WEL Manitoba, to be in the process of launching a second fund.

“The Atlantic Chapter's launch is a testament to the power of collaboration and the potential for meaningful change when diverse voices are included in the investment landscape,” said WEL Atlantic. “By focusing on local companies, the WEL Atlantic Chapter not only aims to drive regional economic development but also to inspire more women to take on investor roles, creating a more inclusive and dynamic business environment.”