Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has announced a new CA$50 million Seed Venture Fund to invest at pre-seed & seed-stage in early-stage Canadian software companies eyeing global markets. The Tech Factor finds out more about the development.
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has announced a fresh CA$50 million Seed Venture Fund investment vehicle. The new vehicle has been set up to invest at primarily pre-seed and seed-stage in software startups. It will focus on early-stage Canadian startups with a vision to compete in the global markets. Further, it aims to invest in Enterprise SaaS, Digital Health, and FinTech sectors, especially those employing AI to disrupt traditional industries.
BDC Capital, the investment subsidiary of BDC, is a significant player in the venture capital landscape in Canada. It offers a range of investment and advisory services to Canadian businesses, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. It’s involved in different stages, by providing a full range of capital from seed stage to IPO, and across sectors. The firm now manages over CA$6B and is a strategic partner to some of the most well-known startups in Canada. Collectively, BDC Capital now operates more than 10 venture funds in Canada. These funds have differential focus on sustainability, climate, women, IT, cleantech, industrial innovation, and healthcare, among others.
This move broadens the fund’s mandate to lead seed-stage rounds and focus on regions facing a dearth of seed capital. The fund is also aiming to strengthen its connections with incubators, accelerators, innovation hubs, angels, and early-stage investment partners nationwide. The announcement highlighted that this was being done to create a nurturing environment for young startups.
First launched in 2012, BDC Capital’s seed-stage vehicles have invested in over 190 Canadian companies till date, the firm stated. Further, it highlighted that these companies have garnered over CA$1 billion in follow-on funding.
BDC hoping to fuel further economic growth by going early stage
Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO of BDC, highlighted the importance of promoting startups across Canada. She further emphasized the role of ample funding and guidance in building resilient, sustainable, and high-performing companies. She added that BDC’s intentional resource allocation to seed-stage firms in underserved areas was also pivotal in developing a pipeline of businesses ready to scale and compete globally.
Jérôme Nycz, Executive Vice President of BDC Capital, stressed the transformative impact of early support on start-ups’ ability to scale, innovate, and ultimately, fuel Canada’s economic expansion.
“Getting the right support at the earliest stages of development can have a meaningful impact on start-ups’ ability to scale, drive innovation and by extension, advance economic growth in Canada. We understand that seed-stage businesses need support from an array of partners to develop a winning model early on and we’re making it a priority to help create the right environment and conditions for them to boost the Canadian technology ecosystem from the ground up.”
Jérôme Nycz, Executive Vice President of BDC Capital
The fund has made several large investments in Canadian tech startups in recent months. These include its participation in Miovision’s CA$36M round about a week ago, NOBULL’s CA$70M round earlier this month, and General Fusion’s CA$33.5M Series F round in August.
The Bank also recently announced Thrive Venture Fund, which will invest CA$100 million with like-minded partners in women-led, social impact businesses at the very beginning of their development. Thrive has invested in several women-led startups in Canada since its inception, including Omy Laboratoires, Vivid Machines, Three Ships Beauty, and Sanctuary AI.
