Thank you to all the members. The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association thanks the committee for the invitation to contribute to this important study.
CVCA represents some of the largest investors in Canada, with more than 350 member firms and 3,300 individuals. Our members are the investors behind the creation of thousands of jobs, the advancements of innovative technologies and the strengthening of local economies across the country. Private capital supports Canada's entrepreneurship by supporting businesses from start-up all the way through to global expansion.
CVCA is dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion within the sector. We do this through various programs, including those supported by the women entrepreneurship strategy, or WES; government funding; initiatives such as the Canadian women in private capital awards, which is industry recognition that promotes the visibility of women investors; and the CVCA internship program, which is now in its fourth year.
Thanks to the inclusive women venture capital initiative supported by WES, CVCA has rolled out programs designed to support and empower women in private capital. Our focus has been on three main areas, and I'll discuss each of these in turn.
The first is education. We seek to promote greater representation of women in private capital through skills training, providing participants who are mid-career women with the knowledge and networks necessary to succeed in this competitive field. CVCA's programs, such as Women Venture Forward, offer targeted education and access to mentorship with industry leaders. To date, this program, which is delivered in partnership with the Ivey Business School, has enabled 60 women from across Canada, from diverse backgrounds, locations and stages in their careers, and helped them find pathways to enter the industry. We know that demand far exceeds supply, so there has been ample interest in our upcoming third cohort, which was coincidentally announced today.
The second pillar is a diverse talent pipeline. We know that developing a strong pipeline of diverse talent is essential not just to inclusivity in our industry but also to its success. An example of an initiative that fosters this pipeline is our internship program, which places 10 to 20 students annually from under-represented groups, including women, across Canada into firms in our membership.
Our third focus is research. This year, we will roll out a DEI benchmark study to assess progress in diversity, equity and inclusion within the private capital industry, and this will build on former insights from a survey in 2021. By providing fresh data on inclusion, it will enable organizations to identify areas for improvement, but beyond data collection, it will underscore the direct correlation between diverse workforces and increased profitability, offering insights into the market drivers for DEI.
We're now in our second year of the inclusive women venture capital initiative, and already we are seeing early successes with two participants starting their own funds. One has almost reached their first capital raise with a focus on LGBTQ founders, while the second one is focused on black women entrepreneurs. These attest to the early ripple effects that having women in decision-making roles can achieve for the ecosystem at large.
There remain important challenges, but there is reason for optimism. Today we see women at the helm of private equity firms in Canada. Venture capital companies in our membership are also now built around the investment philosophy that women-led ventures succeed more often and have better returns than all-male founder teams.
Women have traditionally raised less capital compared to men. In 2020, only 2% of the total proportion of venture capital dollars went to women founders, compared to 9% that went to female and male co-founded companies. We're no strangers to these challenges in Canada. In 2021, 4% of all investment dollars went to women-founded companies, but this is improving. By the first half of 2024, that 4% proportion had gone up to 12%. We can expect ebbs and flows, but this trend is positive, and we will continue to track it and improve upon it.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.