Derry-based investment group AwakenAngels has announced that companies in its portfolio have now secured more than £4 million (€4.5M) in funding, just two years after launching with the aim of improving access to capital for women founders across the island of Ireland.
The achievement was detailed in a new joint impact report published with sister organisation AwakenHub, titled Breaking Barriers. Backing Women. Building Businesses. The document outlines how both organisations have built a pipeline of women-led businesses and first-time investors, while also opening expressions of interest for a 2026 St Brigid’s Day Trade Mission to the United States.
AwakenAngels was established to support businesses where at least one woman founder holds a minimum equity stake of 20%, with the fund open to companies from any sector. Entrepreneurs pitching to the syndicate must be members of AwakenHub, giving them access to a peer community and support ahead of investment discussions.
To date, eight start-ups backed by the network have collectively secured more than £4 million of capital. The portfolio includes Yavia (Joanne Cole, Banbridge), Movetru (Naomi McGregor, Belfast), ITUS Secure Technologies (Clare Ryan, Derry/Donegal), KinetikIQ (Emma Meehan, Galway), Konree Innovation (Margaret Rae, Galway), Eve Mobility (Sarah-Marie Rust, Dublin), Kowroo (Sheelagh Brady, Kildare) and BiaSol (Niamh Dooley, Offaly). A further three deals are currently undergoing due diligence.
The report states that AwakenAngels has doubled its investor membership to more than 118 participants, with women accounting for 90% of the syndicate. The group has also added 13 experienced deal leads to support investments as its portfolio expands.
Alongside capital deployment, the network has focused on training first-time investors. A CPD-accredited AwakenAngels Investor Academy has already put 75 novice investors through its programme, with another 35 beginning the course this month. Two all-island schemes backed by InterTradeIreland’s Shared Island programme have contributed to the pipeline of women investors gaining skills and confidence in early-stage investing.
The report also notes support from InterTradeIreland and the British Business Bank, which provide funding for programme delivery and sponsor places for new women investors joining the syndicate.
In addition to reporting its progress, AwakenAngels confirmed it is now accepting expressions of interest for its next St Brigid’s Day Trade Mission, to take place in early February 2026. The mission will again highlight Irish women founders and investors in front of international networks, potential partners and diaspora-linked communities in the US market.
The announcement follows the organisations’ first joint trade mission to San Francisco last week. Companies taking part included Dublin-based Eve Mobility, Kildare-based Kowroo and KAIDRON powered by Beauty Buddy, along with Co. Antrim-based StimOxyGen and Silver Apples Digital Ltd. The visit featured an Irish Tech Pitch Night, meetings with Neale Richmond, Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, and an AwakenAngels Showcase hosted by Micheál Smith, Consul General of Ireland in San Francisco. Delegates also met Suzanne Rice, AwakenAngels Diaspora Ambassador and one of Silicon Valley’s Top 100 Women of Influence.
Commenting on the findings and recent activity, AwakenHub and AwakenAngels co-founder and CEO Clare McGee said the report reflects meaningful shifts in access to funding and networks for women founders across Ireland. “Our latest report shows how women founders across Ireland are now accessing and actively seeking investment and networks that didn’t exist before AwakenHub and AwakenAngels, and doing so with a newfound confidence.
“We’re building a new funding ecosystem and a new generation of investors taking control of their financial futures by backing brilliant Irish women founders. I want to thank our partners and our Advisory Board, for their belief in our mission. We’ll keep working to lower barriers to angel investing and to create more opportunities for women founders.”
“I’d encourage any women founders or potential investors to connect with us, and those seeking to expand into the US to register their interest in our next trade mission before spaces fill up.”
Movetru founder Naomi McGregor, whose company was the second to receive investment from AwakenAngels, also highlighted the effect of the network. “AwakenHub helped me grow as a founder, and AwakenAngels believed in me early on. That support gave us the credibility to close a £1.2 million international fundraising round and join an incredible network of founders, and investors from all backgrounds, who are driving Irish women-led businesses forward and understanding the specific challenges we face.”
“This report shows what’s possible when people of all genders unite to back the next generation of Irish companies, and I want to say a huge thanks and well done to both organisations.”
