# District Ventures Capital

District Ventures Capital is a Venture Capital based in Calgary, Canada.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** Calgary, Canada
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Calgary, Canada
- **Founded:** 2016
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.districtventurescapital.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/districtvcap

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

District Ventures Capital is a Canadian-based venture capital fund led by Arlene Dickinson. The fund invests in innovative early-stage Canadian companies in consumer packaged goods, with a particular focus on the food, beverage, beauty and health and wellness sectors. It is led by entrepreneurs and offers growth support beyond capital.

## Sectors

- Food & Beverage
- Health & Wellness

## People

- Arlene Dickinson — Managing Partner
- Jason Berenstein — Partner and CFO
- Andrea — Controller

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at District Ventures Capital?

Managing Partner Arlene Dickinson leads investment decisions, supported by Partner and CFO Jason Berenstein. Dickinson's primary expertise is in consumer brand-building and marketing — she ran Venture Communications for 30 years — which means investment decisions are filtered through a strong operator lens rather than a purely financial one. Berenstein oversees transaction origination, due diligence, and fund operations, drawing on principal roles at a Toronto-based family office and Deloitte's Transaction Advisory practice.

### How does District Ventures Capital source deals differently from generalist Canadian VCs?

The fund benefits from Dickinson's public profile and network through Dragons' Den, which funnels consumer-brand founders directly into its pipeline. Additionally, the affiliated Venturepark Labs accelerator serves as a pre-institutional feeder, giving District Ventures early visibility into companies before they seek priced venture rounds. This two-layer sourcing model — brand-driven inbound and accelerator-scouted pre-seed — is unusual in Canada's food-tech space.

### Does District Ventures Capital invest in anything outside food or consumer products?

No. District Ventures Capital focuses exclusively on Canadian early-stage companies in consumer packaged goods, specifically food and beverage, beauty, and health and wellness sectors. The fund does not target software, fintech, digital health platforms, or industrial technology. Its mandate is deliberately narrow in both sector and geography.

### Does the firm participate in fund commitments alongside direct deals?

District Ventures Capital makes direct equity investments in operating companies and does not publicly describe a fund-of-funds or LP commitment program. The firm's disclosed activity — leading equity rounds for companies like Three Farmers Foods and Just Vertical — reflects a direct-deal posture, with capital deployed alongside the operational support of its team and accelerator ecosystem.

### What is the relationship between District Ventures Capital and Venturepark Labs?

Venturepark Labs is an affiliated accelerator program that provides pre-seed companies with programming, mentorship, and shared resources. Companies that receive pre-seed funding from District Ventures Capital are frequently participants in Venturepark Labs, benefiting from its ecosystem before the main fund invests larger growth capital. This creates a pipeline where founders can build product-market fit inside the lab and later access institutional capital from District Ventures.

### Does District Ventures Capital have a specific geographic focus within Canada?

The fund invests across Canada. Its Calgary headquarters reflects Dickinson's Alberta roots, but the team does not limit deals to Western Canada. Portfolio company Just Vertical is based in Toronto, and the firm's investment criteria reference Canadian companies regardless of province. There are no publicly stated restrictions on specific Canadian geographies.

## Related profiles

- [Distributed Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/distributed-ventures)
- [Divergent Investments](https://altss.com/profile/divergent-investments)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:06:35.052Z

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