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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WCAN grant on jobs, investments, and SME support demonstrates the widespread positive impact in- creased government investment in structured angel activity can have on our country. At NACO’s 2020 At- lantic Summit on mobilizing capital across Atlantic Canada, JF Gauth- ier, Founder and CEO of Startup Genome, referred to angel organiza- tions as a key pillar of the activation period for startups and highlighted the importance of investment in structured angel activity as it leads to long term deal flow, fueling start- ups long term.
local communities. Angel-backed companies provide deal flow for venture capital funds as angels fos- ter ventures that may become scale- ups. Policy-makers must therefore ensure that Canada continues to have a healthy angel investor com- munity by recognizing that angel capital is vital to Canada’s econom- ic recovery and future growth and focusing on initiatives to support and mobilize this community. Powerful global forces, such as technological disruption and new applications of data and digi- tal technologies, are driving rapid change in economies and societies around the world. Seizing this mo-
ment of change, and transforming it into new opportunities and compet- itive advantages for Canada calls for bold and urgent action. Good ideas need capital and policy-makers can ensure good ideas flourish through supportive investment in structured angel activity. Despite being ranked in the top four, Canada has fallen one spot in StartupBlink’s 2020 global startup ecosystem rankings. 20 The United States, United Kingdom, and Isra- el, along with Canada, once again all held on to the top four spots for countries with the strongest start- up ecosystems. StartupBlink not- ed that the main issue separating
A strong early-stage ecosystem leads to more scaleups and stronger
20 The Global Startup Ecosystem Index Repot https://report.startupblink.com
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