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BDC Capital commits $50 mln more to women-led tech startupsBDC Capital has committed $50 million to support technology startups led by women entrepreneurs. The commitment is on top of the $700 million allocated /canada/2015/3/bdc-earmarks-700-mln-to-finance-women-owned-businesses/ by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) last year to fund women-owned businesses. A total of $40 million of the new pool will go to women-led startups backed by BDC Capital or its partner accelerators. An additional $10 million will to regional initiatives. The first of these will engage MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund (IAF), the early-stage venture fund of Toronto's MaRS Discovery District. Michelle McBane, investment director at MaRS IAF, will lead the initiative.
Axonify secures $36 mln in JMI Equity and BDC Capital-led roundWaterloo-based employee knowledge platform Axonify Inc has raised about $36 million (US$27 million) in growth equity funding. The round was co-led by U.S. growth equity firm JMI Equity and Canadian venture capital firm BDC Capital, an existing investor. Founded in 2011, Axonify is a provider of all-in-one SaaS technology that helps organizations to modernize their corporate learning and achieve specific outcomes. Carol Leaman, the company's president and CEO, said the funds raised will support Axonify's next phase of growth through accelerated customer acquisition, increased market profile, and an extended platform.
BDC Capital leads additional $14.6 mln investment in WaveToronto-based financial technology startup Wave has secured a $14.6 million investment, adding to the $22.1 million Series C financing closed in March /canada/2016/3/bdc-capital-helps-top-up-waves-series-c-round-to-22-1-mln/ and bringing its total funding to $62.3 million. BDC Capital’s IT Venture Fund led the latest round and was joined by HarbourVest and existing investors Charles River Ventures and Social Capital. Founded in 2010, Wave provides financial software for small businesses, offering services in accounting, payments, invoicing and other areas. It said it expects to reach annualized revenue of over $20 million by the end of 2016. Wave plans to use the funds raised to accelerate R&D and team expansion.
BDC unveils new productivity measuring tool for SMEsThe Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has developed a benchmarking tool to help Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) compare themselves against industry peers and identify new ways to improve their productivity. The tool, developed in collaboration with Statistics Canada, was launched following a new BDC study that found just 6 percent of SMEs in Canada comprehensively measure and benchmark their productivity. That's despite the fact that eight in 10 entrepreneurs view such measures as important.
PE HUB First ReadFirst Read ends the week with news Softbank to form $100b global tech fund with Saudi Arabia, SEC coordinates with other agencies on pension pay-to-play and Obama fears AI nuke hacks.
Manny Padda named angel of the year by NACO, BDC CapitalThe National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) and BDC Capital have given the 2016 Canadian Angel of the Year award to Manny Padda. The award, presented at NACO's National Angel Summit, recognizes an individual investor who has made a significant contribution to the growth and development Canada's angel ecosystem. Padda is the founder and managing director of New Avenue Capital, a Vancouver-based firm focused on venture capital, recruitment, private lending and real estate, and social venture and philanthropy. He has led the organization since 2010.
Ottawa's VCAP so far leverages $453 mln invested in 126 companiesThe Canadian government said its Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP) has so far benefited a total of 126 Canadian innovative companies. VCAP, launched three years ago to encourage private sector participation in the domestic venture capital industry, raised nearly $1.4 billion for four market-based funds of funds /canada/2016/4/3324460/ Investment activity leveraged by the program to date totals $453 million. Ottawa said more investments are expected in the coming years. VCAP is managed by /canada/2016/4/3324460/ the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
Fewer Canadian small businesses in expansion mode: BDCFewer Canadian small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are scaling up today relative to 15 years ago, according to a new study by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). BDC found only "a tiny fraction" of small businesses (0.10 percent, or one in 1,000) grew past the 100-employee mark, down 40 percent from 2001. Additionally, mid-sized companies made up 0.93 percent of the total number of Canadian companies in 2013, down from 1.04 percent in 2001. BDC said the study's findings reinforce the importance of financing and advisory services to help more SMEs to scale up.
BDC, Evok co-lead $5 mln Series A financing of DarkVisionDarkVision Technologies Inc has secured $5 million in a Series A financing. The round was co-led by Canadian venture capital firm BDC Capital and Evok Innovations, a $100 million clean technology fund /canada/2016/1/cenovus-suncor-commit-to-new-100-mln-evok-cleantech-fund/ launched earlier this year. With the round, BDC Partner Geoff Catherwood and Evok CEO Marty Reed joined the company's board. Vancouver-based DarkVision has developed ultrasound-based imaging technology for use inside of oil and gas wells. It allows energy companies to reduce operating costs, increase production efficiency, and minimize environmental impacts. DarkVision said it is planning for initial customer deployments later in 2016.
TIMIA taps VC exec for underwriting EVPTIMIA Capital Corp has named Andrew Abouchar as executive vice president of underwriting. Abouchar, who will be based in Waterloo, Ontario, is a co-founder and partner in Tech Capital Partners Inc, a Canadian venture capital firm.