Derry-based AwakenAngels reaches £4m milestone and opens interest for 2026 US Trade Mission

Headquartered in Derry and founded just two years ago to transform the investment landscape for women across the island of Ireland, AwakenAngels has announced its portfolio companies have secured a total of over £4 million (€4.5M) in funding.

The significant milestone was revealed in a joint impact report with sister organisation AwakenHub, entitled Breaking Barriers. Backing Women. Building Businesses. The report details how the two groups have rapidly established a vital new support network for women founders and investors while also opening expressions of interest for their 2026 US Trade Mission.

AwakenAngels backs companies based on the island of Ireland where at least one woman founder holds a minimum 20% equity stake. Companies seeking to raise funds from the syndicate can come from any sector. To pitch to the syndicate, founders must be members of AwakenHub, ensuring they are part of a supportive community and investment-ready.

The eight portfolio companies in the syndicate, which have collectively raised £4 million of investment to date for their businesses, include 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).

The AwakenAngels syndicate also has three additional deals now in due diligence.

Other figures from the report highlighting the syndicate’s progress in reshaping Ireland’s investment landscape and opening up angel investing to more women include doubling membership to over 118 investors and adding 13 experienced deal leaders to support its expanding portfolio. Ninety percent of syndicate investors are women.

A new CPD-accredited AwakenAngels Investor Academy has already trained 75 novice investors, with another 35 starting the programme this month. Two all-island initiatives, supported through InterTradeIreland’s Shared Island programme, helped build a new pipeline of women investing in women. They included an Angel Investor Masterclass Series attended by more than 260 women across Ireland and the US, and a unique Deal Leader Training programme that supported more seasoned investors in leading deals confidently.

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The report also recognises the support of InterTradeIreland and the British Business Bank, which part-fund programme delivery and increase accessibility for women investors by sponsoring several first-time angels*.

AwakenHub and AwakenAngels also announced today that they are now inviting expressions of interest for their next St Brigid’s Day Trade Mission. Taking place in early February 2026, the mission will once again spotlight Irish women founders and investors on the international stage, connecting them with diaspora networks, investors, and potential partners across the US. Expressions of interest can now be registered at www.awakenhub.com.

The call follows the first-ever joint trade mission by both organisations to San Francisco last week. Among the companies travelling were Dublin-based Eve Mobility, Kildare-based Kowroo and KAIDRON powered by Beauty Buddy, and from Co. Antrim, StimOxyGen, and Silver Apples Digital Ltd. Highlights included a dedicated 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.

Speaking about the successes highlighted in the joint report, CEO and cofounder, Clare McGee, said: “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.”

Emphasising the difference both organisations have made to Irish women founders and the growing community of investors of all genders who are backing them, Naomi McGregor, founder of Movetru, the second company to receive investment from the AwakenAngels syndicate, said: “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.”

AwakenAngels and AwakenHub’s Advisory Board includes Ronan Dunne (Chairman of Six Nations Rugby, NED at Marks & Spencer, former CEO of Verizon and O2), Áine Kerr (entrepreneur, exited founder, broadcaster), Gillian McColgan (investor and exited entrepreneur), and Dr Bryan Keating CBE (tech investor and Managing Partner, CIP Partnership).

Commending the impressive progress made by both organisations, Ronan Dunne, added: “What we’re seeing from the work of AwakenAngels and AwakenHub is essentially a rebalancing of the entire entrepreneurial and investment landscape on this island.

"Their work to lower barriers and enable more women to scale and invest is driving the kind of systemic change that will deliver long-term economic and social returns for us all. Their work is proof of how, if we drive inclusive investment, we can unlock innovation, growth, and opportunity at scale. It is going to be very interesting to see what’s next as more and more women founders and investors join their impressive community.”

AwakenHub

The joint impact report, which is available online at AwakenHub.com also highlights how AwakenHub has cemented its position as the go-to community for women founders across the island of Ireland. Having recently marked its fifth anniversary, the platform now boasts a community of more than 3,500 subscribers and hosts more than 350 ambitious entrepreneurs on its private AwakenClub platform.

Over 140 women have already participated in its SheGenerate pre-accelerator, supported by the British Business Bank and AIB, with many progressing to the SheScales growth programme. Designed specifically for women founders who are ready to scale, it was delivered in association with Cranfield University Management School and supported by British Business Bank and the Shared Island Enterprise Scheme developed by InterTradeIreland, Invest Northern Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland. 

AwakenHub is also a core delivery partner on the EU-funded WomenTechEU programme and the Shared Island Atlantic Futures research project.

Anyone seeking information on how to join the AwakenHub and AwakenAngels community can find out more at awakenangelshq.com and awakenhub.com.