2023 Report on Angel Investing in Canada 121923W6

171

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR ANGEL INVESTING

have seen, there is potential to raise income from mem- bership fees from individual and corporate members, and from sponsorship, the scope is limited. Moreover, the fees that members are charged would potentially be invested, while success fees charged to businesses that raise capital through the angel organization come out of the investment total. The majority of angel organizations (71%) that reported have received government funding, primarily from the Federal Government, notably from NACO's Southern Ontario Angel Community funding program support- ed by FedDev Ontario, and less commonly from pro- vincial governments. One angel organization receives funding from Federal Economic Development Agen- cy for Northern Ontario (FedNor) and Northern On- tario Heritage Fund (NOHFC). Specific activities that angel organizations reported that government fund- ing had enabled them to undertake included growing

ture. Fourth, as highlighted earlier, angel organizations are instrumental in facilitating a connected entrepre- neurial ecosystem, both by connecting angel investors to create an investor community and collaborating with other actors in the ecosystem such as accelerators. Although these activities are intended to generate private financial gain they also have positive spillover effects that benefit the wider economy. These wider public benefits are especially significant in regions out- side of large urban centres on account of their smaller population of investors, fewer corporate sponsorship possibilities and fewer alternative funding sources for startups. Indeed, government funding is the reason why many smaller places have angel organizations. Angel or- ganizations need the management capacity to deliver these benefits. Those that are professionally managed are generally more effective than those that rely on the efforts of their volunteer members. Although, as we

2023 ANNUAL REPORT ON ANGEL INVESTING IN CANADA

Powered by