Sugarcane Ventures, a Caribbean women-led venture fund and incubator firm, says it is seeking US$25 million to invest in other Caribbean women-led enterprises in the Diaspora.

Based in South Florida, Sugarcane Ventures was founded by Lory George, an entrepreneur with roots in Haiti and expansive experience in technology and digital start-ups.

George said in a statement that the firm was established by Caribbean women for Caribbean women in seeking to fill a void currently existing across the globe as it recognises the difficulty for the Caribbean women diaspora to access resources and capital.

“We aim to democratise female wealth creation by investing in thought leaders and ideas that will create the global markets of the future across financial, intellectual, spiritual, human, emotional, and social sectors,” said George.

“Sugarcane is not merely focused on the dollar signs, but also mentorship, connections, knowledge, and resources customised and contextualised for each founding team to succeed. We are solely committed to investing in this ambitious community of diaspora women founders and creators over the next decade.”

The investment pool will provide seed and early-stage funding to build a portfolio of over 25 Caribbean women-owned companies and select creators across the US and Caribbean. Investments will range from US$500,000 to US$1.5 million.

Initially, the core target was women entrepreneurs across the US Diaspora, however Sugarcane will expand its reach and identify and vet scalable creators across the Caribbean for participation and development in their incubator programme.

In addition to George, the Sugarcane executive team includes Nailah Blackman, Trinidad and Tobago-born international recording soca artist, actress, entrepreneur, and granddaughter of Trinidad and Tobago’s legendary musical icon, Garfield/Ras Shorty I; Kahaso Kiti, advisor and ‘momager’ to MLB Atlanta Braves pitcher Touki Toussaint; and Kertia Marley, global warming activist, ‘mompreneur’, and the president of Small Axe Talent and Artist Management.

Armed with a tenacious spirit and the yearning to create a cataclysmic shift, George and the team at Sugarcane say they are determined to marry human-driven resources with an analytical data-driven platform harnessed to identify growth sectors, impactful companies, and creators with a high probability of success.

“In an age when the paradigm continues to shift rapidly, the notion that stands true is that Caribbean women want to reclaim their power through representation, generational wealth and collaboration, shifting the needle not just for ourselves, but also opening the doors for girls and women who come after us. It is crucial Caribbean women are adequately represented in the venture capital and start-up ecosystem. This is the commitment fuelling the fire that makes Sugarcane burn fiercely,” asserted George.