Okanagan Women’s Mentoring and Angel Network Investment (OKGN WMAN) announced this week that it has closed a second fund with 30 women investors and completed investments in Rainstick and Apricotton, both Canadian-based, women-led, social impact businesses.
The first OKGN WMAN Fund, which originally kicked off on International Women’s Day 2021, is now fully invested and closed, after also making a final investment in Rainstick.
“Between the two funds we’ve now brought together more than 40 women investors from across the Okanagan. The group spans from mid-career to retired. It also includes a wide range of occupations,” says General Partner, Camille Saltman, one of the founders of the organization.
“We’ve got lawyers, architects, programmers, marketers, project managers, interior designers, consultants, doctors, accountants, financial advisors and academics. Many are entrepreneurs who are building or have sold businesses.”
Sherri Faloon, another co-founder and General Partner says OKGN WMAN is focused on helping close the large funding gap faced by women founders and giving women hands-on opportunities to sharpen their investment skills, “Women-led teams achieve significantly higher financial performance yet women receive less than 2% of start-up capital.”
Rainstick Shower, North America’s first circulating shower is a Kelowna-based cleantech company revolutionizing the water technology space and just named one of TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023.
RainStick addresses the pressing issues of water and energy conservation across North America, offering up to 80% water savings, up to 80% energy savings and 2x the standard flow rate. With the RainStick app, homeowners can seamlessly monitor savings, and maintenance, and customize the shower experience to perfectly suit your preferences.
“We’re extremely thrilled to have the continued support from OKGN WMAN who are helping us realize our mission of building water technology that allows people to thrive using only 50 litres of water per person, per day,” says Alisha McFetridge, Co-founder & CEO, Rainstick.
“Sustainability is no longer a nice to have, but a need to have when it comes to new builds and remodeling projects, especially in certain areas of North America where water shortages are part of everyday life. 2024 will no doubt be a milestone year as we scale our business model across North America.”
Apricotton is a teen apparel brand that kicked off designing the only bras globally that grow as girls grow, helping the 90% of teen girls embarrassed to wear their first bra.
Apricotton bras are 4x stretchier than competitors’ bras and have adjustable features, so girls can wear their bras from when they’re flat-chested to fully developed. Apricotton is playing in the $142B global teen apparel industry, projected to grow by 24% by 2025 – the fastest growing segment within fashion. The team has also built a loyal Gen Z community called the Sisterly Advice Platform which acts as older sisters to the company’s 150K followers on TikTok and Instagram.
In the OKGN WMAN model, partners meet regularly to discuss opportunities, vet deal flow and make investment decisions. Each participant invests $5,500 for a pool of more than $150,000, which is then used to co-invest in companies the group thinks will generate the best return.
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