BDC Capital, the investment arm of BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada), is launching the $250-million Industrial Innovation Venture Fund to invest in tech companies and entrepreneurs.
In a news release on Tuesday, it said it is accelerating the transformation of core Canadian industries, including agriculture and food technologies, resource extraction technologies and advanced manufacturing.
It also said the fund will invest in early to late stage firms with the genius and ambition to drive marked improvements in productivity and competitiveness across the value chains of the core competitive industries that are the backbone of the Canadian economy. It will do that through combinations of innovative and transformative technologies, processes and business models.
“BDC Capital is excited to be a first mover again, this time supporting innovation and technology adoption among core competitive industries like ag-tech, resource extraction and advanced manufacturing with our new venture capital fund,” said Jérôme Nycz, executive vice-president at BDC Capital, in a statement.
“This fund is complementary to our existing work with the Industrial, Clean and Energy Technology (ICE) Venture Fund, and by launching the Industrial Innovation Venture Fund, we are doubling down on developing transformative solutions for Canadian industries.”
BDC said the goal of the Ifund is to enable technology innovation and commercialization in key Canadian industrial sectors like ag-tech, advanced manufacturing, oil and gas and mining.
“Industrial sectors tend to be slow to digitalize, yet these sectors often represent areas where Canada has a global competitive edge,” said Nycz.
“The fund’s goal is to meet the urgent demands of the next generation of forward-thinking business leaders who want to participate in the industries that drive the Canadian economy.”
– Mario Toneguzzi for Calgary’s Business
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