The Vancouver Impact Fund has already invested $2 million in eight Canadian startups.
Vancouver Spring shock capital has received commitments of C$14 million for its first impact-focused venture capital (VC) fund following its final close late last month.
Spring Impact Capital was launched in 2023 by the leaders of a Vancouver-based impact investing incubator and accelerator. Spring activator (Spring) to support more early-stage Canadian startups developing scalable climate and health technology solutions.
“As we went along, we adjusted our budget and decided we could achieve what we wanted with the size of the fund.”
Olivia Hornby
Spring shock capital
Co-founder and managing partner Keith Ippel told BetaKit that the goal at the time was to take advantage of Spring's deal flow and network, meet the growing demand for impact investing and help fill a gap in the Canadian seed and seed market.
Although the new manager ended up being $6 million short of his target. $20 million goal he shared that year in the background constantly hard Spring Impact Capital co-founder and managing partner in the venture capital market, Olivia Hornby, told BetaKit that the firm is still proud of the result.
“We adjusted our budget as we went along and decided we could get to where we wanted to be with the size of the fund,” Hornby said.
Hornby said Spring Impact Capital initially aimed to raise $15 million, but then raised its target after talking with some larger investors who typically write larger checks.
She said Spring Impact Capital now has a “robust list” of potential limited partners (LPs) who may be interested in backing its future funds at a later date.
In total, over the past two years, Spring Impact Capital has met with hundreds of Canadian entrepreneurs and investors, bringing together more than 40 institutional and individual partners.
The fund's LPs include social finance funds supported by the Social Finance Fund. Boann and also Implement Capital PartnersUnited Church of Canada Foundation, First West Credit Union, Rally Assets, University of Victoria and the Peter Gilgun Foundation. There are also unknown entities and family offices.
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Spring Impact Capital plans to support up to 25 cleantech and medtech startups in the pre-seed and seed stages. The firm intends to issue checks ranging from $250,000 to $400,000, with the ability to lead rounds and have follow-on investment opportunities.
To date, Spring Impact Capital has invested just over $2 million in eight startups, three of which were previously involved in Spring programming. This group includes a water quality monitoring technology startup based in Sherbrooke. BioAlert SolutionsCalgary manufacturer of portable eye care devices RetinaLogicVancouver-based health and wellness software provider. Ginger tableand Vancouver lightning prevention startup Skyward Wildfire.
Hornby admitted that both US move away from clean energy And Implications of technology for sustainable development in Canada have caused some hesitation when it comes to investing in climate and its impacts.
“As investors, it gave us the opportunity to take our time and be cautious in our assessments,” Hornby said. “In general, we have always been hesitant to invest in companies that rely on government policies and subsidies, but we remain bullish on climate technologies that solve real pain points in a more sustainable and financially viable way.”
Image courtesy of Spring Impact Capital.
