Over the last decade, National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) members have invested over $1 billion into early-stage ventures, creating thousands of jobs and assisting Canadian entrepreneurs in every region and industry to execute their vision and commercialize their ideas.
However, as the 2020 NACO Report on Angel Activity in Canada highlights, angel investment continues to be distributed unevenly across Canada and critical gaps exist in our national innovation ecosystem, hindering the emergence of high growth companies. In 2019, Central Canada accounted for 86% of investments compared with only 13% in Western Canada.
These numbers are indicative of the enormous potential that exists within Western Canada and the critical need to mobilize capital off of the sidelines so that we can continue to build on the success stories emerging from the region. We need to have our country’s best resources poised to support entrepreneurial growth and we need investors and mentors at the ready, no matter where that company is located.
Later this month NACO is hosting the NACO West 2021 Summit, two days of virtual speakers and networking all focused on growing Angel Investing in Canada’s Western Provinces.
Among the speakers are CBC Dragon Arlene Dickinson, Globalive Capital’s Brice Scheschuk, The Narwhal Project’s Charles Plant, RBC’s John Stackhouse, and Juan Orrego of Victoria’s Cuboh.
Join the NACO community as they work together to mobilize capital to ensure that Western Canada’s entrepreneurs receive the support required to scale, ultimately leading to a more inclusive, competitive, and vibrant innovation ecosystem.
NACO West 2021 is on March 30th and 31st. Register online for free to participate.
Over 20 years, the NACO has emerged as the bedrock of Canada’s innovation economy and the only national platform for both angel investors and the innovation hubs that support Canada’s entrepreneurs. NACO’s growing membership of over 4,200 angel investors, 45 incubators and accelerators, and 44 angel groups have pioneered the “access to capital” movement for Canada’s entrepreneurs.
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