Helping Social Ventures Grow Through Angel Investment
28 May 2015 - 8:01PM
Business Wire
New Partnership to Develop Province’s Social
Investment Market
Ontario, Canada is making it easier for businesses that produce
positive social or environmental impacts, along with a sustainable
financial return, to grow and succeed.
The province, in partnership with the Network of Angel
Organizations–Ontario (NAO-Ontario), is launching the Impact Angel
Alliance. The Alliance will encourage more investors to help
kick-start promising, high-growth social ventures in Ontario. This
will be Canada’s first impact investing angel network.
The Alliance will work with NAO-Ontario to:
- Raise awareness of social ventures
among established angel investor groups.
- Help diversify angel group membership
to help bring in more women, visible minorities, and new
immigrants.
- Bring together angel groups and
non-traditional funding partners to increase co-investment into
social ventures in priority areas, such as community health and
sustainable craft industries.
- Research emerging trends, challenges
and opportunities in impact investing to reduce risk, save time and
attract better opportunities.
QUOTE
“We want to encourage investors to target businesses that focus
on achieving more than just profits – by placing their money into
businesses that also positively contribute to social or
environmental benefits in Ontario. Angel investors can help social
enterprises grow and succeed, and through our partnership with the
Network of Angel Organizations and the Impact Angel Alliance, we
are making it easier for social ventures and angel investors to
connect, contribute, and make our society a better place to
live.”
— Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and
Infrastructure
“Like any other start-ups, impact ventures need financing
to grow. The number of angel investors making impact investments is
growing, and we want to make it grow even more. With the support
from the government and partnership with NAO-Ontario, we're
confident that we can achieve that goal and help to transition
impacting investing to greater mainstream awareness and
adoption.”
— Sean Holt, Executive Director, Impact Angel Alliance
“Initiatives like the Impact Angel Alliance will help
Ontario-based companies like ChipCare to accelerate our growth, and
allow more people around the world to access affordable,
life-saving HIV treatment. We are grateful to our investors who are
committed to building a profitable Canadian diagnostics company,
while helping to make a real difference in patient care
globally.”
— James Fraser, CEO, ChipCare.
QUICK FACTS
- Impact Angel Alliance is inspired by a
similar initiative in the United States that has successfully
worked with early-stage social ventures to help raise over $180
million to date.
- Angel investors are high net-worth
individuals who provide financing to start-up companies.
- About 320,000 high net-worth
individuals – with a collective wealth of almost $1 trillion – are
estimated to live in Canada.
- The current total Canadian impact
investing market is nearly $5 billion. In 10 years, that number is
estimated to grow to $30 billion.
- Ontario is home to over 10,000 social
enterprises that employ about 160,000 people.
- Ontario is home to SVX, the first
social impact investing platform of its kind in North America.
LEARN MORE
- Network of Angel Organizations –
Ontario
- Impact Angel Alliance
- ImpactOntario 2015
- Social Enterprise Progress Report
Ontario, Canada
Ontario, Canada’s business environment is designed for global
success. Ontario is an efficient North American hub for
international investment and trade. It offers direct access to the
US$17+ trillion North American market; a multicultural workforce;
streamlined regulations; a low-risk investment climate, competitive
business costs, a great quality of life and more. World leading
companies have invested billions to start or expand their
operations in Ontario, from many sectors including automotive,
aerospace, life sciences and biotech, ICT, water and wastewater
technologies, financial services, mining and more. These companies
are leveraging Ontario’s competitive advantages by developing
breakthrough technologies, products and services for global
markets. Major players with an Ontario presence include Honda,
Magna, Sodexo, Alcatel-Lucent, AXA, DuPont, MDS, sanofi pasteur,
GlaxoSmithKline, Teva, IBM, and Dell. Ontario has a population of
over 13 million (the largest in Canada), generates 37 per cent of
Canada’s GDP, and boasts an export-oriented GDP that is larger than
that of Belgium, Switzerland or any of the Scandinavian
countries.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150528005509/en/
EdelmanDolleen Cross, 650-784-3481Dolleen.cross@edelman.com