The National Angel Capital Organization is launching a Western Canadian Regional Headquarters in Calgary this spring as Canada’s industry association for angel investors expands to unlock $6.9 billion for entrepreneurs through new programs, connectivity between urban centres and emerging ecosystems and filling critical gaps in early-stage funding.

NACO’s expansion into Calgary recognizes Alberta as an emerging source of early-stage capital for Canadian entrepreneurs, said the organization in a news release. Its data findings indicates that Western Canada has significant untapped pools of capital. In global rankings, Startup Genome’s 2019 Report listed Calgary and Edmonton as ecosystems that are in the early stages of emergence. Also, Vancouver is listed as one of the top 30 startup ecosystems in the world, despite needing to close the gap in early-stage funding, it said.

“Expanding angel activity will allow emerging ecosystems, including Western Canada, to successfully diversify their economies, promote inclusive economic prosperity, and benefit from growth in the innovation sector,” said Claudio Rojas, CEO of NACO, in a news release.

“Enhancing national connectivity benefits entrepreneurs in all communities and regions across the country. Urban centres have an important role to play in flowing investment into non-urban communities.”

NACO said it is building programs to support its more than 40 angel groups ensuring that angel networks have the operational tools and educational resources they need to advance inclusive access to capital. NACO works with its members to ensure that its regional programming is sensitive to the needs of entrepreneurs in their local communities.

“A new trend is emerging around syndicated deals. National data indicates that these types of deals have more than doubled since 2015. In 2018, total investments from syndicate deals was $262.7 million. This trend is expected to continue and is directly related to the evolution and increased sophistication of the angel investment asset-class in Canada over the past 10 years,” said NACO.

“Larger syndicated deals and follow-on investments between $500,000 to $3 million in funding serve as the necessary gateway to later-stage capital for scaling companies. This trend highlights the critical role that angel capital plays in filling funding gaps in the innovation ecosystem.”

“A smooth funding continuum reduces frictions in the capital raising process, which allows entrepreneurs to better focus on building their businesses and avoid early exits. NACO remains focused on supporting early-stage capital for Canadian entrepreneurs. In activating more angel activity across both urban centres and emerging regional ecosystems, NACO’s programming has expanded to address the scale-up funding gap between angel and venture capital,” said Rojas.

NACO said it represents a growing membership of over 4,000 angel investors, incubators, and accelerators as they help Canadian entrepreneurs access capital and mentorship to grow their companies. Over the past nine years, NACO members have made investments in over 1,400 companies totalling more than $850 million of direct investments, resulting in the creation of 7700 Canadian jobs.

Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.

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