Canada-based biotechnology product maker Natural Products Canada (NPC) plans to raise C$50m ($39.5m) for a cleantech corporate venturing fund called NPC Ventures.
The company has secured a non-binding term sheet with an undisclosed anchor investor for the vehicle, which will invest in producers of natural alternatives to synthetic products such as plastics and preservatives.
NPC Ventures aims to complete its first close in autumn 2021 and its parent has hired Kristi Miller, founder and former national managing director of business finance provider First West Capital, to run the fund as managing director.
Miller said: “NPC Ventures has tapped into something very compelling. There is tremendous opportunity for Canadian companies to meet this exponential demand for ‘natural’. I am honoured to bring my experience and network to an area with such meaningful potential for growth.”
The fund will target 16 to 20 investments ranging from C$500,000 to C$2.5m. NPC has invested in 13 companies over the past four years, including Chinova Bioworks, a startup developing natural preservatives; Bast Fibre Tech, which is creating biodegradable disinfecting wipes from hemp; and CanBiocin, a developer of probiotics for companion and production animals.
Shelley King, chief executive of NPC, said: “Our unique investment thesis focuses on the tremendous demand for sustainable replacements for synthetic products coming from nearly every segment of industry.”
Photo of Kristi Miller courtesy of Natural Products Canada.
