The Alberta Enterprise Corporation (AEC) has made an additional investment of $5 million into its third early-stage angel co-investment fund, Accelerate Fund III.
The additional capital brings the fund’s total to $15 million, the largest of AEC’s angel co-investment funds.
AEC CEO Kristina Williams noted that the additional investment “comes at a critical time” in Alberta’s economy.
Calling Fund II “a valuable source of capital and expertise for the rapidly-growing Alberta tech sector,” AEC CEO Kristina Williams noted that the additional investment “comes at a critical time” in Alberta’s economy and has the potential to encourage more entrepreneurs to stay in the region.
“Alberta is becoming a global player when it comes to technology and innovation,” added Doug Schweitzer, Alberta’s newly appointed minister of jobs, economy and innovation. “Continued investments by Alberta Enterprise will further grow technology businesses and allow them to hire and grow with confidence while staying local.”
The aim of AEC’s fund is to provide capital to early-stage Alberta tech startups, helping them expand revenues and teams, as well as get products to market and secure customers. Accelerate Fund III is managed by Yaletown Partners with the support of The A100, the same investment team that oversaw Fund II.
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Accelerate Fund co-invests alongside angel investors in financing rounds and typically invests up to $500,000 on the same terms and conditions as private investors. The fund works with formal angel groups, super-angels, family funds, and individual angel investors.
The Accelerate Fund program started in 2012 and invests in tech startups that are private, incorporated, and have a head office and more than 50 percent of employees located in Alberta. The previous two funds, the first launched in 2012 and managed by AVAC Group, and the second launched in 2016, totalled $10 million each. According to the AEC, the program has supported more than 20 Alberta early-stage technology businesses since its inception.
The additional capital commitment from AEC comes as the organization was promised $175 million from the Government of Alberta as part of the province’s economic recovery plan. The government funding is meant to support AEC’s overall mission of helping early-stage startups secure access to venture capital. AEC invests in Alberta-focused venture capital funds that finance early stage, technology startups in, and outside of, the province.