Through its investment arm, BDC Capital, the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), will commit an additional $500-million to its Growth Venture Fund (GVF) and $450-million to its Growth Equity Partners (GEP) program.This new capital will help Canada’s next generation of global champions access the capital they need and help buoy the current chilling effect within the investment ecosystem, the bank for Canada’s entrepreneurs has announced.
In a period of heightened uncertainty, such as higher inflation and borrowing costs, potential tariffs or increased labour shortages, economic conditions continue to challenge the ability of Canadian entrepreneurs to raise capital, explained BDC.
Isabelle Hudon
“We are leaning into our role as Canada’s development bank”, said Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO, BDC. “We fundamentally believe that our economic resilience begins and ends with the Canadian entrepreneur. Investing in our best and brightest is always a winning strategy, whether it’s responding to the short-term uncertainty like tariffs and inflation or shoring up our long-term economic prosperity”.
While BDC’s investment arm, BDC Capital, has 12 different funds that invest across the business growth cycle, from pre-seed to late-stage, this capital commitment targets the later-stage companies that have been facing challenges, while also empowering promising early-stage firms with the resources needed to scale into global champions, said BDC.
According to BDC’s latest Venture Capital (VC) landscape report, VC investment activity in Canada declined across all stages in 2023. Notably, the capital invested into late-stage companies was almost cut in half compared to 2022. Without sufficient later-stage funding, promising Canadian startups and later-stage companies may need to seek investment from foreign investors to remain competitive. BDC is therefore ensuring these innovative firms are not stymied on their growth path and continue to expand locally, it said.
Geneviève Bouthillier
“A healthy ecosystem requires a balance of funding across all stages of the business lifecycle”, said Geneviève Bouthillier, Executive Vice-President, BDC Capital. “That’s why BDC acts as an enabler, offering support and financing to all entrepreneurs, regardless of their size, stage or sector. Entrepreneurs are the doers that build businesses, communities, and economies. By investing in their growth, BDC is propelling a variety of Canadian champions for the next decade.”
“BDC’s mission is to generate positive impacts upon the Canadian economy and investing in companies closest to exponential growth will lead to the quickest economic traction,” it said.
Despite the turbulence, BDC said the GVF has had significant traction since its inception in 2024, supporting rapidly expanding businesses such as:
- Certn (Victoria, B.C.), a global leader in online background screening, helps businesses of all sizes know exactly who they are hiring and renting to. BDC’s $30-million investment will enable Certn to further expand its AI- and automation-powered background checks and support its ambitious goal of building trust worldwide.
- StackAdapt (Toronto, ON.), a digital advertising platform specializing in native ads, video, audio, connected TV, gaming and digital outdoor advertising. StackAdapt’s platform was designed with artificial intelligence (AI) engines and advanced machine learning algorithms to generate the best possible advertising campaign results. The investment from the Venture Capital Growth Fund allowed the company to enhance its team and its marketing strategy to accelerate its international growth.
Launched in 2017, BDC’s GEP program accelerates growth by investing equity capital in Canadian mid-market businesses as a minority investor, it said.
By partnering with later-stage companies and the next generation of entrepreneurs looking to scale, BDC said the GEP has successfully invested over $440 million in 36 Canadian companies, including recent investments in:
- BCES Global (Ottawa, ON.), a consolidator of electrical maintenance and technical service providers, supporting commercial, industrial, and governmental customers. Primary services include preventive maintenance, inspection and testing, engineering and technical services, and health and safety training. BDC’s investment enabled Ottawa-based Kroon Electric Corp. to establish a consolidation platform to better serve growing demand for professional electrical services, and to simultaneously acquire three U.S.-based companies.
- Dissan Group (Montreal, QC.), a leading distributor of janitorial supplies and equipment with 60 locations across Canada. BDC’s Growth Equity Partners team’s support allowed Dissan to acquire three strategic members of its network and begin the next phase of its growth story by leveraging a leading market position.
With almost $1 billion of incremental capital to support business growth, the GVF and GEP investment teams are actively looking to partner with companies across all regions of Canada, said the bank.
“BDC’s Growth Equity Partners‘ (GEP) investment platform allows it to be the sole investor, lead investor, or co-investor in an equity transaction for growth capital or an ownership transition. The GEP targets established, profitable companies with a proven business model with demonstrated products or services, an experienced and financially committed management team and a history of stable positive cash flows,” it said.
“BDC’s Growth Venture Fund (GVF) targets late-stage, innovation-based businesses that are at an inflection point and show strong potential for meaningful scale. The Fund will invest up to $100M per year in late-stage technological companies that leverage innovative technologies and business models in various areas such as: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications for eCommerce, Blockchain technology for Fintech, Cybersecurity, etc.The GVF will expand its original co-investment platform for partners to a hybrid model between direct and co-investments.”
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Podcast. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024 and 2025.
About Us
Canada’s Podcast is the number one podcast in Canada for entrepreneurs and business owners. Established in 2016, the podcast network has interviewed over 600 Canadian entrepreneurs from coast-to-coast.
With hosts in each province, entrepreneurs have a local and national format to tell their stories, talk about their journey and provide inspiration for anyone starting their entrepreneurial journey and well- established founders.
The commitment to a grass roots approach has built a loyal audience on all our social channels and YouTube – 500,000+ lifetime YouTube views, 200,000 + audio downloads, 35,000 + average monthly social impressions, 10,000 + engaged social followers and 35,000 newsletter subscribers. Canada’s Podcast is proud to provide a local, national and international presence for Canadian entrepreneurs to build their brand and tell their story.
