Looking Beyong Borders
NACO’s most recent Annual Report on Angel Investing in Canada notes that angel investment continues to be a largely local and regional activity. In 2019, 14% of investments were in the same city as the Angel Group was based and 52% were in the same province. However, a comparison against the data from previous years indicates that this trend is shifting with a growing number of investments made across provincial and territorial borders. National connectivity between emerging and established ecosystems remains a source of untapped potential for Canada’s innovation economy. Although historically angels have been inclined to invest close to home, the increased digital activity that occurred in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to additional interest in interprovincial and interterritorial investing. (8) In order to achieve sustainable returns on investment, angel investors should aim to have a diversified portfolio. This may be challenging if Yukon angel investors are focused solely on Yukon companies as the innovation ecosystem is in a phase of development. As both the innovation ecosystem and the angel ecosystem in Yukon develop in parallel, cross border investing can be a powerful support mechanism to drive momentum. Both by providing the opportunity for Yukon angel investors to diversify their portfolios through investments in entrepreneurs from across Canada and by bringing capital and expertise from a national network of angel investors to support Yukon entrepreneurs and create more investor-ready companies.
(8) A Decade of Deals: Annual Report on Angel Investing in Canada, June 2020. https://builtbyangels.com/
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MOBILIZING ANGEL ACTIVITY IN YUKON
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