Janet Bannister

Partner, Real Ventures

Janet Bannister is a partner at Real Ventures, one of Canada’s premier early-stage venture capital firms. Janet has led investments in a dozen companies and works actively with Real’s portfolio companies to help them accelerate growth and create meaningful impact.

Janet is passionate about helping entrepreneurs and their businesses reach their full potential. Her background is a combination of founding and building successful entrepreneurial ventures and making an impact at leading companies such as Procter & Gamble, McKinsey & Co., and eBay.

Janet launched Kijiji.ca and grew it to become one of the most visited websites in Canada. Subsequently, she led the Kijiji Global business, accelerating growth in North America, Europe, and Asia. Prior to launching Kijiji, Janet was at eBay in Silicon Valley where she led multiple “non-collectibles” categories and helped transform eBay from a collectibles business to a diversified marketplace.

She also founded and built a successful consulting business and was CEO at a Toronto-based start-up in the online content and commerce space.