SheBoot Alumnae Surpass $60M Investment Milestone

National non-profit celebrates economic impact as it welcomes 15 startups to its 7th cohort

OTTAWA, ONTARIO — July 7, 2026 — SheBoot, the national non-profit that prepares women founders to secure critical investment, has achieved a landmark milestone: its alumnae have now successfully raised more than $60 million in investment. As the organization launches its seventh cohort, this track record cements SheBoot’s role not just as a program, accelerator, or investment group, but as a driver of undeniable economic impact. At a time when women-founded companies continue to receive only a fraction of venture capital investment, their success continues to prove that investing in women entrepreneurs delivers exceptional returns for investors, communities, and Canada’s economy.

Building on this powerful momentum, SheBoot is proud to announce the 15 exceptional Canadian startups selected for its 2026 cohort. These tech ventures are driving high-impact innovation across key sectors, including AI, cleantech, agritech, medtech, healthtech & life sciences, hardware & advanced manufacturing, ICT, defence, and fintech.

Meet the 2026 Cohort

SheBoot proudly welcomes the following 15 Canadians tech startups to the 2026 cohort:

Lark Meadow, Co-Founder and CEO of Aeon Blue, which produces synthetic jet fuel from seawater at a cost comparable to fossil jet fuel, while also creating the core feedstocks other synthetic fuel producers need to scale.
Mahya Khaki, Co-Founder and CEO of AiVALON Health Technologies, a medtech company bringing cardiovascular stress testing into your pocket. Its app, Ally™, uses a smartphone and guided breathing to assess early cardiovascular risk signals under challenge, helping patients track their heart health sooner.
Lisa Mohapatra, Co-Founder and CEO of Bidblox, an AI bidding, procurement, and pricing platform for the construction industry, that powers faster, smarter decisions across the project lifecycle.
Nancy Cooke, Founder and CEO of Campaign Compass(™), a Canadian technology company that equips political campaigns, advocacy organizations, and non-profit groups with the tools, data, and strategic guidance they need to run smarter, more effective campaigns.
Mouna Romdhane (COO) and Nurra Barry (CEO), Co-Founders of Carbon Saver, a GreenTech SaaS & BIM plugin that helps architects and engineers design buildings up to 10x faster while measuring and reducing their environmental impact in real time, right inside the tools they already use.
Fora Fereydouni, Founder and CEO of Cognitai, a clinical intelligence ecosystem for mental health professionals and patients, built to maximize continuity, precision, and personalization of care while minimizing clinician workload.
Florina Truica, Co-Founder and CTO of Cold Plasma Group, an agri- technology company developing patented cold plasma solutions for agriculture and regulated industries, including Plasmina®, a chemical-free seed enhancement product that improves germination, plant vigor, and climate resilience.
Bryn Davis Williams and Jessica Bosman, Co-Founders of DOUBL, a consumer-centered shopping tool that enables apparel brands to deliver personalized experiences by connecting body data with garment data, so shoppers find what fits and flatters them, so that brands see fewer returns and more conversions.
Olga Koppel, Founder of EcoSafeSense, which builds multi-pollutant indoor and outdoor air quality sensors with real-time cloud analytics, helping operators detect pollutants early, reduce risk, and make smarter decisions about the air they breathe.
Gharsa Amin, Founder and CEO of Kavodax, a cross-border payments platform that helps businesses send and receive international payments in minutes with lower costs, transparent FX rates, and built-in compliance.
Latchmi Raghunanan, Founder and CEO of Maman Biomedical, a microneedle-based drug delivery platform that helps people self-administer painless injectable therapies, giving back time, mobility, and quality of life to those who rely on them.
Wintta Ghebreiyesus, Founder and CEO of Moon Trades Technologies, an AI-powered mineral exploration platform that enables mining companies to pinpoint where to drill, turning months of guesswork into data-driven discoveries.
Afshan Ahmed, Founder and COO of NeuraVue Ltd, a senior care AI platform that helps memory care and long-term care providers detect responsive behaviours and safety risks earlier, improving outcomes for residents living with dementia.
Shelley Montreuil, Co-Founder and CEO of trippl, a travel platform that enables tourism destinations to turn visitors into bookers, by giving them their own white-label trip-planning tool. Travelers build and share itineraries, turning visitor intent into first-party data the destination owns.
Urnaa Yondon, Founder and CEO of YGEOSCIENCE ltd, a deep-tech start-up developing a helicopter-deployable, battery-powered, high-voltage transmitter system for deep mineral exploration. The system surveys 5 times deeper than conventional systems, unlocking Tier-1 critical mineral deposits anywhere on Earth.

This fall, these 15 startups will participate in an intensive, six-week investment-readiness bootcamp developed and delivered by experienced women investors and entrepreneurs. The specialized curriculum includes investment-readiness training, one-on-one coaching, expert advisory services, curated networking opportunities, and more.

The program will culminate in the annual SheBoot Grand Finale, where SheBoot will announce the three founders who secure a combined equity investment of $300,000 ($150,000 for first place, $100,000 for second place, and $50,000 for third place) made by the 30 SheBoot women angel investors.

Reflecting SheBoot’s core mission of economic inclusion, this year’s rigorous evaluation process selected 15 ventures from an ultra-competitive pool of over 195 national applications. The 2026 cohort establishes a deeply diverse regional and cultural footprint across six provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. 60% of this year’s founders self-identify as BIPOC, and 73% are immigrants or entered Canada as refugees. This highly competitive group reflects the breadth of innovation emerging across Canada, including several startups pioneering dual-use innovations that serve both commercial markets and public safety or defense applications.

Impact Highlight: The Multiplier Effect

Since 2020, an initial $2 million in angel investment through SheBoot has helped catalyze more than $60 million in follow-on capital, demonstrating the exceptional return and multiplier effect of investing in women-led technology companies.

As SheBoot enters its seventh year, the organization continues to bridge the persistent capital funding gap faced by women-led businesses by building a strong pipeline of investment-ready startups and a robust, sustainable ecosystem:

78 women-led tech startups have successfully graduated from the intensive investment-readiness program.
$2 million has been directly invested by SheBoot angel investors in SheBoot alumnae.
More than $60 million of capital has been successfully raised by SheBoot alumnae following their graduation.
55 women have invested their capital as SheBoot angel investors.

Backed by Partners & Sponsors

The 2026 SheBoot program received essential funding support from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP). This pivotal backing directly underscores a shared commitment to accelerating the growth of small and medium-sized Canadian startups.

SheBoot’s programming is made possible through additional support from our partners and sponsors: Mistral Ventures, Welch LLP, Navio Law, Numbercrunch, Kinaxis, and CIG Startup Foundry, as well as our co-investment partner, BDC Thrive Lab.

Quotes

The $60 million milestone demonstrates what we have believed from the beginning: when women founders have access to capital, networks, mentorship, and investors, they build exceptional companies. Every founder we support strengthens Canada’s innovation economy, creates jobs, attracts investment, and inspires the next generation. We are honoured to welcome our seventh cohort of 15 outstanding women tech founders and look forward to supporting their growth as they create jobs, attract investment, and help unlock one of Canada’s greatest economic opportunities.”

Katie LeClair, Executive Director, SheBoot

About SheBoot

SheBoot is a national non-profit corporation dedicated to closing the gender funding gap by increasing access to capital for women-led tech startups and increasing the network of women angel investors. Founded in 2020 by Julia Elvidge, Jennifer Francis, and Sonya Shorey, together with the Capital Angel Network and Invest Ottawa, today the organization prepares women-identifying tech entrepreneurs from across Canada to successfully secure investment.

SheBoot provides specialised investment-readiness training through an annual program that includes an intensive bootcamp, which culminates in a pitch day where all participating founders pitch directly to the SheBoot angel investor group. Following Pitch Day and a rigorous due diligence process, three companies from the 15-startup cohort are selected to receive equity-based investments totaling $300,000 from 30 women angel investors. The recipients are officially announced at the annual SheBoot Grand Finale.

Visit www.sheboot.ca for more information.

Media Contact

Katie LeClair

Executive Director, SheBoot | [email protected] | 613 316 2333