The Toronto-based organization will use the money to support its efforts to invest in and provide mentorship for women-led startups. In a separate announcement in Winnipeg, International Trade Minister Jim Carr said the federal government is investing $2.6 million to increase trade in western Canada’s information technology sector—he also mentioned a $100,000 investment in Flipside XR, a Winnipeg-based virtual and augmented reality company. (BetaKit, Western Economic Diversification Canada)

Talking point: Both the $2.5-million investment in SheEO and the $100,000 investment in Flipside XR are part of the federal government’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund, a five-year plan announced in 2018 to invest $85 million for women entrepreneurs to expand their companies and grow internationally. In March, the federal government announced the fund’s first investment of $20 million across about 200 companies. The fund’s overall objectives include doubling the number of majority-women-owned businesses in Canada by 2025. With about one-quarter of the $85 million having been allocated thus far, the government appears to be on track to have the funding doled out by 2023.