CVCA 2021 Recap: Laser Focused on Our Mission
Over the last year, the CVCA and our members have successfully delivered on several of the organization’s goal areas. Throughout all the curveballs and challenges, we have faced the pandemic head-on and continued to grow and evolve.
A Win-Win: VCCI Continuation
After months of dialogue with Ottawa, the CVCA was pleased to see a favourable step towards the continuation of the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative (VCCI) this year. In March, the federal government announced the CAD $450M follow-on investment into the program, supporting Canada’s innovation ecosystem, underrepresented entrepreneurs, critical life science companies, and our economic recovery. The team is now focusing on supporting the program’s implementation. The federal election was one of these 2021 curveballs delaying the program. CVCA is currently engaged with Minister Ng’s office and we expect the wheels to be set in motion as soon as parliament returns after the break to assist in the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Read CVCA’s reaction to the announcement of the renewed VCCI here.
Actionable Insights: CVCA Research in 2021
This year, CVCA introduced a completely refreshed quarterly report. Unveiled with our Q42020 report, the new report featured several new data sets including:
- Regional Spotlight (Atlantic Canada for VC and Western Canada for PE) with written commentary from CVCA’s data partners
- CVCA member portfolio’s helping to combat the COVID-19 pandemic
- VC-backed employment data
- Foreign investors in Canada
- Showcasing Canadian “Narwhals”
You can check out our quarterly reports here.
2022 will be a banner year for CVCA Research. We are excited to share details of what we have planned next year as soon as we are able. Keep an eye on our website for announcements.
Pandemic Era Events: Together at Home
This year, in-person events remained on-hold, but CVCA maintained our commitment to provide exciting and insightful webinars, virtual events, and information sessions to connect with the industry and our members.
Invest Canada ’21 was delivered as a virtual experience once again, and building on our learnings from 2020, the program was condensed into two days with more sessions each day. In an effort to provide as many opportunities as possible to connect, we introduced a full week of networking for attendees.
We look forward to welcoming delegates in-person again in 2022. Save the date and join us in Ottawa May 25 – 27 for Invest Canada ’22.
Read CVCA’s Invest Canada ’21 post-conference report here.
CVCA welcomed over 2000 attendees to our events in 2021, and covered a range of topics including:
- COVID-19
- SPACs
- Continuation Funds and Secondary Vehicles
- Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion
- Geopolitical Trends and Trade
- Life Sciences
- Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG)
- Next Generation of VC & PE
- IPOs
There will be a number of opportunities for you to connect and engage in 2022! Keep an eye on our events calendar – there will be new events added shortly!
A Diverse Pipeline of Talent
As part of CVCA’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Committee’s goal to expand the pipeline for underrepresented groups working in VC and PE firms, the committee has formed a subcommittee to launch the pilot CVCA co-op/internship for Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC) students in partnership with ICON Talent Partners – a grassroots non-profit with experience helping CVCA member organization in sourcing BIPOC talent for both full-time and interns.
The pilot program has placed 10 BIPOC students (nominated by Canadian universities from across the country) into 10 CVCA member firms for the Fall 2021 term and will continue to support the cohort with biweekly Lunch & Learn events and networking. At least 50% of candidates put forward by ICON were women from racialized communities – the most underrepresented group in private capital.
While learnings of the pilot are currently being reviewed, many CVCA members have expressed interest in participating in future cohorts of this program. Look for an announcement about how to apply in Q1!
The Role of Data in Industry Diversity
CVCA’s D&I committee is putting the finishing touches on our latest Human Capital Benchmark report- a refresh of CVCA’s 2019 Human Capital Benchmark Study on the state of diversity and inclusion in VC and PE. Working alongside Diversio, CVCA sent surveys to its membership to collect anonymized data from employees of VC and PE firms based on demographic information. The report will analyze employee experiences and benchmark performance against other industries.
The report is made possible by sponsorship from BDC, CIBC, and The51, and will be published in Q1-2022 with industry-wide recommendations.
Your Favourite Content from 2021
To help close out 2021, we looked for the most consumed content from the year on our industry publication, CVCA Central:
Top Venture Capital Content:
- Government Investment into Venture Capital to back Entrepreneurs, Address Inequality, Increase Employment, Support Life Science Companies and Propel Canada’s Economic Recovery
- What is Venture Capital?
- AWARD SPOTLIGHT: Evok Innovations & BDC Capital Winners of 2021 VC Deal of the Year for DarkVision
- VCAP At Year 7: More Canadian Companies & More Canadian Jobs
- The Barriers and Lost Opportunities in Backing Canada’s Black Entrepreneurs
Top Private Equity Content:
- AWARD SPOTLIGHT: Novacap Winner of 2021 PE Deal of the Year for Intelerad Medical Systems
- Strong Saskatchewan Roots With Growing Global Reach: How A PE Partnership Positioned Degelman And The Community For Growth
- Shared Vision and Partnership: Cooper Equipment Rentals and SeaFort Capital
- How a PE Partnership Unlocked the Potential for Nova Scotia’s Bluewave Energy
- Perspectives from Private Equity Leaders…Who Just Happen to Be Women
Invest Canada ‘21 Regional Canadian Investment Spotlights:
See you in 2022!
We have so much to be proud of this year. Thank you to our members, partners, and industry friends for making 2021 another great year. We can’t wait to continue this momentum in 2022 and we look forward to meeting in person with you again soon!
