Participated · Series A · Apr 2026

Founded in 2015, Common Wealth offers a software platform that enables small and mid-sized employers to provide workplace retirement plans. Since early 2024 the company has tripled its employer base, grown membership 3.5x, and quadrupled assets under administration, and it now serves more than 1,500 organizations across Canada. It has expanded its advisor network to about 400 and launched a savings program for personal support workers with support from the Government of Canada. Management says the platform aims to help Canadians turn savings into reliable income and to open the retirement market to employees of SMEs. The company has highlighted a large market opportunity, citing research that more than nine million Canadian employees may lack access to workplace retirement plans and that fewer than one in five SMEs with five to 500 employees offer such plans. Common Wealth intends to invest in product development (including AI), distribution, and team growth as it scales.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2026

Founded in 2019, Canada-based Dispersa has developed BioEterna®, a synthetic-biology and precision-fermentation platform that feeds waste oils and sugars to microbes, producing PuraSurf®, the world’s first 100% waste-derived biosurfactant. The ingredient can slot into cleaners, detergents, shampoos, cosmetics and other formulations traditionally reliant on fossil or palm inputs. With facilities in Laval, Québec and biomanufacturing partners in Nova Scotia, the company is nearing 100-tonnes-per-year production capacity and is preparing to fulfill commercial orders across North America. Dispersa’s circular model simultaneously diverts food waste from landfills and lowers the carbon and biodiversity impacts tied to conventional surfactants. The startup has raised more than $13 million CAD to date, enabling its transition from lab proof-of-concept to commercial-scale manufacturing. Seed funding is being deployed to expand production, accelerate customer integrations and advance additional waste-to-chemical product lines.

Participated · Equity · Aug 2025

Friendlier provides reusable plastic containers to food service operators, using a deposit-and-return system with sanitized redistribution to replace single-use packaging. Customers pay a deposit for signature ocean-blue containers and receive refunds at drop-off stations. The company sanitizes used containers and operates reuse programs across Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Friendlier has partnerships with the Toronto Zoo, Coca‑Cola Canada, grocery chain Farm Boy, and the University of British Columbia. The startup is expanding its system to support hot beverages, catering, and retail grab-and-go stations and is deploying additional proprietary micro-sanitation hubs. As of the article, Friendlier has reused more than 3.3 million containers and has raised nearly $13 million CAD to date. Friendlier provides reusable food containers and a companion app that lets customers pay deposits, claim refunds on returns, and enables containers to be sanitized and recirculated. Led by CEO Kayli Dale, the company aims to expand operations and its business reach to meet growing demand. Plans include strengthening the sales team, establishing new facilities in Guelph and Vancouver, and building a reverse supply chain to support reusable packaging at scale. After three years in market, Friendlier has reused one million containers, equivalent to 127,000 pounds of plastic, 370,000 pounds of CO2 emissions, and 8 million litres of water saved versus single-use packaging. Financially, the company has raised a total of $8.35M to date and has secured over $1M in non-dilutive funding. Prior financings include $850,000 in pre-seed funding, $2.5M in seed funding, and a recent $5M seed extension. Friendlier supplies low-cost reusable containers to the food service industry and operates a return-and-sterilize system with collection bins and cleaning locations in Guelph and Ottawa. Customers place food orders in Friendlier containers, which are later collected, cleaned, sterilized and resold to businesses; repeat customers receive a small discount. The company offers a consumer app to find participating businesses, locate return bins, track discounts and monitor plastic savings. Friendlier was cofounded in 2019 by University of Waterloo chemical engineering graduates Kayli Dale and Jacquie Hutchings and is based in Guelph. It employs about 35 people and serves more than 200 customers, including restaurants, corporate cafeterias, post-secondary institutions and Compass Group. Operational metrics in the article note Friendlier has cleaned and reused more than 500 million containers, with each container used about 100 times.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2021

Powered by People operates a B2B digital wholesale marketplace that connects buyers in North America and Europe with small-batch producers in more than 70 countries. The platform provides financing to makers and offers flexible payment terms to buyers, enabling responsible, sustainable, and social-impact purchasing. PBP works with over 2,500 brands and producers and serves customers ranging from independent boutiques to large retailers such as West Elm, Pottery Barn, Banana Republic, and The Citizenry. The company says it will use new capital to continue scaling its global operations and technology. Founded in 2021 and based in Nairobi, Kenya, PBP has also secured philanthropic support alongside its equity financing. Powered by People operates a B2B online marketplace that links more than 200 brands and over 45,000 artisans from 47 countries with retailers such as West Elm and The Citizenry. The platform provides payment rails, logistics aggregation, a CRM for vendors, and up to 50% advance financing to help makers fulfill larger wholesale orders. Orders on the platform average $1,200 and the business recorded a $15 million annualized gross merchandise value run rate by mid-March, targeting $25 million by year-end. The company is building regional hubs to speed deliveries and expanding vendor tools and senior leadership to scale operations. It also plans to issue an additional $10 million in trader credit before the end of the year, having already extended $5.8 million in financing. Powered by People is a mobile-first B2B wholesale platform connecting creative manufacturing producers and international buyers across home décor, accessories, fashion and beauty. The platform provides online tools, a B2B marketplace, financing solutions and credit lines with flexible payments for SMEs in the handmade and creative manufacturing sector. It enables discovery of diverse global brands, product customization for exclusive retail offers, and secure transactions between buyers and producers in low-income countries. PBP’s brands supply major retailers including Williams-Sonoma, IKEA, Crate & Barrel, Nordstrom and Goop. CEO Ella Peinovich says the company is building a more digital, diverse and transparent future of retail and will use funding to support access for a new class of artisans to mainstream markets.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2020

Goodee is a B Corp–certified home and lifestyle marketplace that connects craftspeople worldwide with customers seeking sustainable designs. The platform curates and sells ethical home décor and lifestyle products while sharing creators' stories with a core customer base of women aged 24 to 44. Founded in June 2019 by designers Byron and Dexter Peart in Montreal, the company has expanded via initiatives such as a Whitney Museum Shop pop-up. Goodee recently completed a C$2M (US$1.5M) Series 2 Seed round, bringing total funding to C$4.7M (US$3.5M). It intends to use the proceeds to grow digital and merchandising teams, onboard new ethical brand partners and Goodee-branded products, and expand its U.S. customer reach. Despite COVID-19, the company reported a second consecutive quarter of exponential growth, with sales increasing over 50% during the lockdown quarter.