Canada’s venture capital and private equity association will take advantage of the world’s largest investors visiting Toronto in September for Prime Minister Mark Carney‘s Canada Investment Summit by hosting its own forum earlier the same day.
Mr. Carney’s first of its kind federal summit is booked for Sept. 14 and 15 with the aim of drumming up foreign investment in Canada, including for major nation-building projects. The event is expected to draw asset managers from firms such as Blackstone Inc. BX-N, which manages nearly US$1.3-trillion, and sovereign wealth funds such as US$936-billion GIC, which is based in Singapore.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) is planning an all-day event on Sept. 14 to introduce international players to the success stories of the Canadian technology and technology-enabled companies the country’s private sector has invested in.
According to CVCA chief executive officer Benjamin Bergen, Canada has a moment to showcase a cohort of growth companies on the world stage.
“The world has really shifted, and we’ve got to respond. So, how do we look for international capital in other parts of the world?” he said in an interview.
Attendance at the CVCA’s forum will be by invitation only. The venture arm of the world’s top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, and the British Business Bank, a government-owned economic bank, are among the investors the association is hoping to attract, Mr. Bergen said.
“First you’ve got to invite people to your house in order to show them that you’re wanting to be friends,” he said. “… This is very much what this is.”
Mr. Bergen said Novacap, ONCAP, Plaza Ventures, Inovia Capital and Beringer Capital are some of the Canadian firms supporting the event. For their portfolio companies, international support is essential for scaling, he said.
“We now need private capital to show up and build this ecosystem in order for us to capitalize on all those investments that were made all those years ago,” he said.
With reports from James Bradshaw and Bill Curry