Saskatchewan’s Conexus Venture Capital (CVC) has closed its second fund, hitting its $30-million CAD target as the firm gears up to back more Saskatchewan technology startups.
“It’s a big win for Saskatchewan, it’s a big win for the Prairies, and it’s a big win for Canadian tech,” CVC managing director Jordan McFarlen told BetaKit in an interview.
The Regina-based, early-stage venture capital (VC) firm first launched this fund in May 2024 with a $15-million first close supplied by its founder and anchor, Conexus Credit Union.
“It’s a big win for Saskatchewan, it’s a big win for the Prairies, and it’s a big win for Canadian tech.”
Jordan McFarlen, CVC
CVC has now closed another $15 million for Fund II from a list of limited partners (LPs) that includes eight other undisclosed credit unions, institutions, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices across Saskatchewan. The close wraps up an 18-month fundraising process that saw CVC meet its mark despite continually tough VC fundraising market conditions. McFarlen said CVC saw strong support from both existing and new LPs.
During this time, CVC has also invested in three startups, including Saskatoon-based home care tech startup Alto, Regina parking management software startup Offstreet, and Calgary- and Saskatoon-based soil remediation platform LiORA.
CVC’s first fund, which Conexus created alongside incubator Cultivator in 2019, made 17 total investments into startups based in the Prairies, 13 of which are based in Saskatchewan. CVC claims that its first fund, which it finished making new investments out of in early 2023, ranks within the top quarter of other 2019 vintage funds across North America. To date, CVC has exited two companies (Curatio and Thinkific) and taken secondaries on another pair.
Today, CVC appears to be both Canada’s only Saskatchewan-headquartered VC fund and the country’s only credit union-led VC fund. The firm has amassed a portfolio that includes two of the province’s most successful tech startups—restaurant team management software company 7shifts and financial institution appointment scheduling platform Coconut Software.
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CVC’s second VC fund will follow a similar strategy to its first. With a focus largely on Saskatchewan-based software startups, CVC plans to back 10 to 15 companies through Fund II, across the pre-seed to Series A stages and lead and co-lead rounds.
McFarlen will deploy the remainder of this $30 million with the help of Alex Shimla (the co-founder of Saskatoon tech incubator Co.Labs, who joined CVC as principal last fall) and Gabrielle Schubach, CVC’s manager of VC finance and operations.
Conexus is in the process of joining forces with two other Saskatchewan credit unions—Cornerstone and Synergy—in a merger that will become effective in early 2026. McFarlen said that this deal has no impact on CVC beyond making its largest LP bigger, adding that Conexus remains committed to supporting the growth of the province’s tech ecosystem.
Conexus, which offers personal and business banking services to its over 148,000 members, has been working to build up Saskatchewan’s tech sector through both CVC and Cultivator, which has incubated 196 startups that have created more than 600 jobs.
In a statement, Conexus CEO Celina Philpot called the credit union’s $15-million investment in CVC Fund II “a testament to our belief in Saskatchewan’s entrepreneurs and tech startups.”
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.
Feature image courtesy Conexus Venture Capital.