Venture Grade, a student venture capital fund based at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, has invested $12,500 in online life insurance distributor Emma Labs.

Based in Montreal, Emma Labs targets younger life insurance buyers, aged 29 to 40, who have young children or are expecting kids. The company aims to streamline the sales process by waiving the usual mandatory health evaluation and cutting out insurance brokers.

In a statement, the young VCs said they have invested $12,500 — Venture Grade’s usual amount — partly on the basis of their faith in CEO Felix Deschatelets, a serial entrepreneur with fintech and marketing experience.

“In terms of market attributes, the life insurance market is projected to grow over the next few years given proven market demand,” said Venture Grade students Hiro Tsuchiya, Ayush Deora and Junlong Guo in a statement.

“Emma Labs will add significant value to the fund’s investment portfolio as it has excellent exit prospects.”

Founded in 2016, the Venture Grade fund is raised and managed by graduate and undergraduate students. The fund is connected to Silicon Valley’s C100 group, Boston’s Canadian Entrepreneurs in New England, and local VC funds, including Innovacorp, Build Ventures and Concrete Ventures.

SMU also now offers students involved in the program access to Seattle-based private capital database PitchBook.