Oncology innovation accelerator FACIT and the Ontario Bioscience Innovation Organization (OBIO) have revealed the first group of startups to benefit from the Women’s Synergistic Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (WeSEED) program.
The program was born from a partnership struck by the two Ontario life science innovation hubs last year to help women STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) leaders access business training, advisory resources, networks, and venture funding.
WeSEED provides resources around commercialization, fundraising, and technical and IP viability.
The inaugural WeSEED cohort includes endoscopy workflow software A.I. VALI and clinical trial patient management platform Genetics Adviser, which are each receiving investments from FACIT’s Compass Rose Oncology Fund. Other cohort members, including portable brain imaging tech startup AiimSense, genetic cancer testing company Asima Health, and immunotherapy platform Cura Therapeutics, are receiving entrepreneurship training and development resources.
Kitchener, Ont.-based Asima Health received $10,000 as part of a Women+ Entrepreneur Incubator program cohort last May.
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WeSEED looks to support women-led companies with Ontario-based intellectual property (IP) or headquarters that are working on innovations with life science or cancer-related applications, FACIT senior director Dr. Connie Chen told BetaKit in an email statement. Cohort members can access skills development resources around commercialization, fundraising, and technical and IP viability.
“Helping position and propel women-founded startups and healthcare innovation in Ontario to advance homegrown IP and secure financing was the driver for FACIT and OBIO to partner on the WeSEED program,” Chen said in a statement. “It is very rewarding to see our organizations elevate the equity, representation, and positioning of women STEM leaders.”
WeSEED members may also access capital from one of FACIT or OBIO’s funds, depending on their requirements, Chen said. She added that access to capital is not guaranteed and may include grants, equity-based investment, and convertible debt. Chen said FACIT and OBIO do not disclose investment amounts, but that they can range from $10,000 to $1.5 million.
Chen said that future cohorts will be opportunity- and eligibility-based, and that they envision one to two cohorts per year with three to five members each.
Feature image courtesy OBIO.