E X ECU T I V E S UMMA RY Conc l us i on
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ity. Proportionate investment into the angel community infrastructure to mobilize more capital at the ear- ly stages of the startup journey will amplify the impact of government investments, particularly where it relates to investments made in busi- ness incubators and accelerators and non-dilutive finance programs, creating a stronger pipeline of VC- ready companies and driving job creation in local communities. The long-term health of the Canadi- an innovation ecosystem is critical as we continue to navigate the im- pacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ventures that may become scale- ups. It is notable that COVID-19 relief programming favoured ven- ture capital and venture-backed scaleups through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Capital Bridge Financing Program. This trend continues with the re- cently announced expansion of the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) - an important program that facilitates growth capital for prom- ising companies. Yet despite the much greater scale of angel invest- ing there has been and has contin- ued to be an absence of any targeted national programming to encourage and support angel investment activ-
Policy-makers need to understand that “it takes an ecosystem to raise a successful startup.” Connectiv- ity is a fundamental component of entrepreneurial ecosystems. The shrinkage or loss of one compo- nent in the ecosystem damages its overall effectiveness. Angel organi- zations rely on various government programs (notably non-dilutive fi- nance programs) and incubators and accelerators for their deal flow. Angels also benefit from the lever- age effects of public sector ven- ture capital funds that co-invest alongside them. And angel-backed companies provide deal flow for venture capital funds as they foster
202 1 ANNUAL REPORT ON ANGEL I NVEST I NG I N CANADA The Chang i ng Landscape
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