T H E I N V E S TME N T E N V I RONME N T The Impo r t ance o f S t r uc t u r ed Ange l Ac t i v i t y and Gove r nment Suppo r t
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over initial targets. Most notably, despite the economic hardships of 2020, organizations reported a 13% increase in the dollar value of in- vestments, in the project period, a total of over $38.5 million compared to the initial target of $16 million. Innovation is the key to compet- itiveness, productivity, economic growth and increasing quality of life for all Canadians. To become one of the most innovative countries in the world, Canada must build a cul- ture of innovation, where Canadians have the right skill sets and tools to leverage emerging opportunities to compete in the global econo- my. The significant impact of the
barriers as it acts as a bridge be- tween angel investors and entre- preneurs across a variety of sec- tors and backgrounds. For these reasons, government investment in structured angel activity is a power- ful mechanism to enable entrepre- neurs with increased access to in- vestor networks to create jobs and facilitate business growth. Investment activity also saw sig- nificant positive growth during the WCAN project period. Participating angel groups and incubators and accelerators saw a 115% increase in the number of investment pitches in the project period and a 200% in- crease in the number of investments
Government investment in struc- tured angel activity is an effective way to support the early-stage eco- system because structured angel activity is more accessible to entre- preneurs. Networks of angel funds, non-profit or for-profit angel groups or investor clubs, angel syndicates and incubator- or accelerator-led programs that foster an ecosystem of angel activity to support entre- preneurs are all examples of struc- tured angel activity. Historically, access to angel inves- tors has been based on network connections and this is a major bar- rier to the innovation ecosystem. Structured angel activity removes
202 1 ANNUAL REPORT ON ANGEL I NVEST I NG I N CANADA The Chang i ng Landscape
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