Montreal-based cleantech venture capital firm Cycle Capital has closed $145 million CAD for its cleantech fund, Cycle Capital IV. The startup also announced that Export Development Canada (EDC) is a new limited partner.
As reported in the Logic, EDC is contributing $10 million to the fund. Cycle Capital claims to have $500 million in assets under management. This is the final close for Cycle Capital IV, which announced a $109 million first close of the fund in 2019. The Government of Québec contributed $50 million to the fund at that time through Investissement Québec.
“Cycle Capital has an established track record for supporting female-led and founded businesses.”
– Jennifer Cooke
Founded in 2009, Cycle Capital seeks investments in early-stage companies and sectors like biofuels, biomass transformation, smart grid, renewable energy, agriculture technologies, and Smart Cities. In November, Cycle Capital launched a new water tech impact fund, BleuImpact Fund, and announced the appointment of Simon Olivier as senior partner to lead the initiative. The fund is a seed/early-stage venture capital fund with a target size of $15-20 million.
Cycle Capital has partnered with EDC on three cleantech direct investments in the past year through EDC’s matching program. Additional partners and strategic investors with Cycle Capital include Teralys Capital, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Fondaction, Business Development Bank of Canada, Suez, Rio Tinto, Innergex Renewable Energy, Hydro-Québec, Vancity Financial Cooperative, McConnell Foundation, Trottier Family Foundation, La Capitale Insurance and Financial Services, Concordia University, and several private investors as well as Cycle Capital’s managers.
EDC said its investment in the Cycle Capital IV fund aligns with the export credit agency’s trade strategy, which includes initiatives to support historically underrepresented groups within trade such as women-led businesses.
“Cycle Capital has an established track record for supporting female-led and founded businesses, and EDC’s commitment to this female-founded and co-led fund will support our Women in Trade Investments Program mandate to encourage greater representation on both sides of the investor/entrepreneur table,” said Jennifer Cooke, manager of Women in Trade at EDC. “We have had the pleasure to work with the team at Cycle Capital on multiple co-investments and share the vision that EDC’s customer-focused solutions can help further accelerate their growth.”
