Canada could start a second funds of venture capital funds (FoF) support program in its next federal budget allied to support for corporate venturing.
An insider in Canada’s federal government said he was preparing for a repeat of its Venture Capital Action Plan at the end of its financial year in February and March, while other governments had been asking its advice as to how to set up similar programs.
Introduced in 2013 by the former government, Canada committed C$340m to four FoF managers, alongside another C$112.5m from Ontario and Quebec’s provinces. The four funds then raised another C$900m from private investors to invest in VC funds that then backed entrepreneurs, with a further C$50m invested directly in VC funds by the federal government.
In its first report into VCAP, Navdeep Bains, Canada’s minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said so far 126 Canadian companies had benefited from the program from the first 20 VC funds backed by the FoFs.
Canada’s new Liberal government has set out an Innovation Agenda and has been preparing support measures for local corporate venturing after research by Global Corporate Venturing* showed its relative underperformance compared to other countries.
*Disclosure: GCV is planning a Canadian corporate venturing event in April with backing from its state-owned Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).