As we enter into a new calendar year, we wanted to look back and reflect on our accomplishments in the past year.
Last year was a busy and rewarding one for InBC. Following the approval of our investment strategy and completion of our first investments in the previous year, we began 2023 with a keen focus to advance our investments into companies driving economic, social and environmental impacts for British Columbia (B.C.).
By year end we had invested a cumulative $61.5 million into B.C. companies as well as venture funds that invest in B.C. companies. As of December 2023, 12 companies in the province had been invested in directly by InBC or through one of our portfolio funds. These companies are supporting over 680 employees in B.C. and have crowded in $200 million investment dollars to the province*. InBC is doing important work to grow and keep companies in the province, along with the quality jobs and economic activity they generate.
We also continued to collaborate with others doing similar work to drive economic growth in the province. We are committed to reaching and empowering a diversity of entrepreneurs, supporting a thriving innovation ecosystem in B.C. and working together to scale our collective efforts.
Here is a recap of our 2023 highlights.
*Based on last available reporting data
January-March
Earlier in the year, we completed our investment into Amplitude Ventures Fund II, a venture fund investing in life sciences and biotechnology companies. While Amplitude is still closing its funding round, it has already begun investing in B.C. companies. Recently, it led the seed round for Reverb Therapeutics which is developing groundbreaking treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases.
Shortly after, the Province announced the B.C. Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy to position B.C. as a hub for life sciences and biomanufacturing. While InBC’s investment decision-making is independent from government, we were pleased to see the sector identified as an area of potential for driving innovation and economic growth in the province.
We continued establishing internal processes and templates, including acquiring and customizing technology, to prepare accepting interest from companies looking for investment. We also worked to develop a process that is fair and inclusive, where all companies enter through the same door.
Members of our team thoughtfully engaged in the community, speaking at events to reach a diversity of entrepreneurs across the province and introduce InBC as a potential investor.
- Our CIO, Leah Nguyen, spoke on a panel for the Asian Canadian Ventures Collective (ACVC), sharing with Canadians of Asian heritage working in tech what venture capitalists are looking for in 2023.
- She also spoke at the Black Entrepreneurs & Businesses of Canada Society (BEBC)’s virtual Black Business Summit, an event empowering black entrepreneurs. Our Investment Associate, Crystal Lo, judged the event’s Black Pitch Contest.
- Our CEO, Jill Earthy, spoke on a panel for Innovation Asset Collective’s Canadian Women in IP community, discussing the importance of diversity and inclusion in B.C.’s growing tech sector.
- She also participated in a fireside chat at the Angel Forum’s Western Angel Summit in Victoria, sharing InBC’s plans for 2023 and how we will support early-stage companies.
- Our Investment Principal, Scott Wong, spoke at the Pacific Agriculture Show where companies in the agriculture sector showcased their latest innovations.
April-June
In the Spring, we began accepting interest from companies looking for an investment. With this milestone, our investment team quickly got to work assessing the great number of opportunities available in our province, with mindful considerations to build a strong and diverse portfolio and meet our triple bottom mandate to value people, planet and profit.
While investment activity during this time began to slow across the market in response to rising interest rates and an overall economic slowdown, we spent time working with companies and other investors to thoroughly assess opportunities and move investments along.
We began hosting monthly virtual office hours to answer questions from companies considering InBC as an investor. Through the year, we hosted eight of these to ensure our team is accessible to companies across the province.
We developed and published our Strategic Plan for the next three years, which outlines our overarching goals and will guide our activities and priorities through to 2026.
Jill attended the BIO International Convention as part of the B.C. delegation led by Life Sciences BC and the Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, sharing how InBC is investing in life sciences companies with strong connections to B.C.
The InBC team participated again in the annual Moose Hide Campaign to drive awareness and end violence towards Indigenous and non-Indigenous women and children.
We welcomed our Propel Impact Summer Analyst, Skye Noh, to the team. The Propel Impact Summer Analyst program connects Propel Impact Fellows and Alumni and domestic students across Canada with paid internships at impact-driven organizations.
Our team continued engaging in the community to reach more B.C. companies and support diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship.
- Leah mentored women entrepreneurs to share their business visions at The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale.
- She also sat on the judging panel for the SFU Venture Prize event celebrating entrepreneurial ideas from the Simon Fraser University community.
- Jill and our Investment Principal, Scott Wong, participated in a fireside chat with Vancouver Tech Journal to share with the tech community how InBC is investing in the B.C. economy.
- Our Investment Associate, Shivani Chitroda, spoke on a panel at VANTECH Angel Network’s cleantech and climate tech meet up, sharing the latest investment trends in these sectors to an audience of B.C. companies, investors and other community stakeholders.
- Leah moderated a webinar hosted by Bears Lair TV, with speakers Jeff Ward of Animikii and Patrice Mousseau of Satya Organic, to engage in dialogue and share learnings for Indigenous entrepreneurs looking to raise capital.
- We hosted a booth at Future of Good and SVX’s virtual Social Finance Forum, Canada’s leading conference for impact investors and entrepreneurs.
July-September
InBC, Innovate BC, New Ventures BC and PacifiCan launched Capital Compass BC at Innovate BC’s IGNITE event. Developed jointly between the partners, Capital Compass BC is an interactive online platform providing B.C. companies, investors and researchers with a dynamic view of the startup companies and funding sources in our province. InBC also supported IGNITE’s Pitch Event where our Investment Principal, Heather Tanaka, sat on the investor panel.
InBC and Innovate BC collaborated with the University of Victoria’s Impact Investing Hub to map impact ventures in B.C. and their current and potential contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The results of this survey will be consolidated and shared publicly on Capital Compass BC.
We signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the BC First Nations Business Development Association (FNBDA) and Innovate BC to establish a working group to explore approaches to supporting First Nations innovation and technology in the province.
We began reviewing our Investment Policy Statement to ensure our strategy continues to work with current market needs and conditions. Proposed changes were completed and approved by our Board in December.
Leah spoke on a panel at Entrepreneurship@UBC’s Immersion Week, sharing insights for companies scaling in today’s environment and what impact frameworks they can use to plan for growth.
The African Canadian Business Chamber awarded InBC with the Ubuntu Sustainable Future Award at the inaugural African Canadian Business Summit. While InBC is at the start of our impact journey, we appreciate the recognition for the work that we are doing to build a more inclusive and sustainable future.
October-December
After a busy summer processing the volume of companies looking for investment, and performing thorough due diligence on many of these, we began closing investments into B.C. companies.
We completed our investment into 4AG Robotics, an agritech company based in Salmon Arm, B.C. that develops and builds leading robotics solutions for agriculture producers. The company is reaching domestic and international markets and actively hiring more employees, bringing economic development and jobs to the Thompson-Okanagan.
We completed our investment into Clarius Mobile Health which produces high-definition, portable handheld ultrasound scanners. With scanners that are more affordable, ultra-portable and powered by artificial intelligence, the company is increasing the number of health practitioners with access to ultrasound technology, improving patient outcomes and expanding healthcare to more communities.
We completed our investment into ThoughtExchange, an AI-accelerated engagement and survey experience platform helping organizations to unlock collective intelligence and improve decision-making. Organizations across the world are using ThoughtExchange to engage in thoughtful discussion, consider diverse perspectives and solve problems. Based in Rossland, B.C., the company is supporting technology jobs in the Kootenays and beyond.
We completed our investment into Pender Ventures’ Pender Technology Inflection Fund II, a venture fund investing in healthtech and B2B technology startups to drive efficiencies and improve clinical decision-making, patient outcomes and healthcare operations. While Pender Ventures is still closing its fundraising round, it has already begun sourcing and investing in B.C. companies.
We published our 2022-2023 Annual Legislative Report summarizing our impact and progress in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, which was tabled in the Legislature in November.
Jill spoke at The Peak’s Bet on Canada Summit to connect and engage with entrepreneurs, business leaders and other investors.
This new year, we are excited to make more investments into innovative B.C. companies, with a goal to drive financial returns alongside economic, social and environmental benefits for B.C. Interested companies can learn more and get the conversation started here. As we progress our strategy, we look forward to seeing our impacts increase and sharing these results with you.
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