Accelia Capital, a Québec venture capital fund that supports female-led startups, has promoted Julien Letartre to partner.
“He has an excellent business network and a superior capacity to ensure active networking with players in the venture capital ecosystem in Canada.”
– Christine Beaubien
Accelia said that, in his new position, Letartre will be involved in all of the fund’s transactions and operations, as well as supervising a team of analysts. Letartre joined Accelia in 2022 as a principal, following experience as a long-time senior associate of private equity at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a major investment manager for public pensions in Québec. Prior to that, Letartre was an associate at Novacap and has served as an analyst at BMO Capital Markets and Montréal-based IT giant CGI.
Accelia co-founder and managing partner Annick Charbonneau said Letartre’s “impressive” professional background is an asset for the fund and its partners, adding that he is passionate about technology and has helped create value for Accelia’s portfolio companies.
“Since his arrival at Accelia, Julien has stood out for his enthusiasm, his analytical skills and his commitment to the fund’s mission,” Accelia’s other co-founder and managing partner Christine Beaubien said in a statement. “He has an excellent business network and a superior capacity to ensure active networking with players in the venture capital ecosystem in Canada.”
RELATED: Accelia Capital launches $50 million VC fund to back women-led startups in Québec
Accelia founded its $50-million fund in 2021 with the aim of investing 70 percent of its funds in Québec businesses owned or managed by women, which Beaubien and Charbonneau said would help close the gender gap in venture capital investments. At launch, the fund was backed by institutional partners such as the Government of Québec through Investissement Québec and the National Bank of Canada, as well as private partners and “influential” businesswomen.
Last April, Accelia announced that Export Development Canada made a $5.6-million investment into the fund, which brought Accelia’s funding pool up to $60 million in assets under management.
At Collision this week, Montréal-based Heylist announced it secured a $1.6-million round led by Accelia to develop its “nanoinfluencer” marketplace product and support its sales growth in Canada and the United States. Heylist CEO Vicky Boudreau said the company was proud to have the support of Accelia, as Heylist’s team is made up of 70 percent women.
Feature image courtesy Accelia via its website.
