Calgary-founded venture platform The51 has announced the first close of its third fund, with BMO committing as lead anchor investor.
The51 Fund III is targeting a $30 million final close and will invest in women founders building companies in the future of health, wealth, and work. The fund is led by The51 Co-Founder and CEO Shelley Kuipers and Managing Partner Lauren Robinson.
BMO is joined by 17 women co-anchors from across Canada, a group The51 says brings together investors, operators, family office leaders, corporate directors, and economic builders from Victoria, Calgary, and Saskatoon to Toronto, Montreal, and St. John’s.
The51 says the fund is designed to address a persistent gap in venture capital, noting that women founders receive just 2% to 4% of venture capital in Canada despite consistently outperforming their peers.
“The51 Fund III will back women founders building the future of health, wealth and work – among Canada’s most underinvested entrepreneurs,” the organization said in its announcement.
The fund builds on The51’s broader mission of mobilizing women’s capital and institutional capital to support women-led innovation. The organization points to a major shift in financial influence, noting that Canadian women are projected to control nearly $4 trillion in financial assets by 2028.
“At BMO Wealth, we believe the next phase of growth will be driven by new perspectives, new ideas, and more inclusive access to capital,” said Amanda Custodio, Chief Growth Officer at BMO Financial Group. “Anchoring The51 Fund III is a deliberate investment in that future by backing women founders who are building in critical sectors and unlocking innovation at scale.”
Custodio added that widening participation in the economy strengthens competitiveness and resilience while accelerating long-term growth.
The51’s co-anchor model is also part of the fund’s thesis. By bringing women investors in at the anchor level alongside institutional capital, the organization says it is helping ensure women hold more decision-making power over where capital flows.
“We have always known the appetite was there, from founders, from investors, from the women ready to put their capital alongside their values,” said Kuipers. “Fund III is what it looks like when that appetite finally has a home.”
Kuipers said The51 is building the infrastructure Canada needs to unlock the economic power of women.
The fund’s 17 women co-anchors include Sonia Baxendale, Joanne Bourgault, Rachael Carswell, Nan DasGupta, Judy Goldring, Miranda Hubbs, Kerindeep Jaswal, Erin Lang, Jen McCain, Tracey McVicar, Colleen Moorehead, Gillian Riley, Susan Rimmer, Ann Glazier Rothwell, Karen Stewart, Anne Whelan, and Gisele Wilson.
“I believe two things deeply: that women in Canada deserve equal access to venture capital, and that women are stronger when they build together,” said Gillian Riley, Founder of The Scotiabank Women Initiative. “Fund III and The51 bring both of those beliefs to life.”
The first close of Fund III marks the next stage for The51 as it works to move more capital into women-led ventures shaping the future economy.
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