The Women’s Equity Lab Atlantic angel fund, the recently created, female-focused angel investing group from the non-profit Atlantic Women’s Venture Foundation, has announced its first three investments.

Founded six months ago and representing Atlantic Canada's only pan-regional angel network, the fund has now invested in medtech startups Hollo Medical and Uresta, as well as portable wind turbine-maker Aurea Technologies.

"There was no shortage of quality companies that applied for funding," said Kathryn Lockhart, one of the fund’s managing partners, in a statement. "As a new fund, we are incredibly proud of the swift and impactful investments we were able to make in a short amount of time.

"These initial successes are a testament to the talent that exists within the Atlantic provinces, and we know there are many more incredible investment opportunities in Eastern Canada.”

Halifax-based Hollo is developing a spacer called the Bre-Z Chamber for use with asthma inhalers. The device is small enough to fit in a child’s pocket, unlike existing, cumbersome products. The company last month replaced CEO David Hodgson with fellow co-founder Sara Fedullo and shuffled Hodgson to the chief medical officer role.

New Brunwick’s Uresta, meanwhile, makes a medical device for women to prevent bladder leakage during heavy exercise, or when they cough or sneeze. The Uresta product was originally designed by surgeon and chief medical officer Scott Farrell, and the company is now led by former financial sector executive Lauren Barker.

And Aurea, co-founded by CEO Cat Adalay and Rachel Carr, sells a portable power generator designed for campers and hikers who need to charge their devices during wilderness excursions, dubbed the Shine Turbine. The company received a five-figure research and development grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada in January.