Vancouver-based incubator and accelerator Spring Activator has acquired EdTech startup Future Capital. The combined investments of the two organizations are just over $50 million CAD, Keith Ippel, co-founder and Co-CEO at Spring Activator, told BetaKit.
“This acquisition marks an incredible step forward for bringing wealth creation opportunities to underrepresented communities,” Ippel said. “We know we can move faster together to transform the ways the whole ecosystem thinks about investing, starting companies, and innovation as a whole.”
Combined, the two organizations claim they have supported over 2,500 entrepreneurs across more than 60 communities.
Spring Activator did not disclose the closing date of the deal or the cost of the acquisition.
The incubator noted that Marlon Thompson, founder and CEO of Future Capital, will join Spring as chief experience officer (CXO) and will report to co-CEOs Keith Ippel and Caroline von Hirschberg. The new, combined team has 40 employees.
Combined, Ippel claimed they have supported over 2,500 entrepreneurs across more than 60 communities spanning five continents.
Founded in 2014, Spring Activator said that it has helped more than 2,000 entrepreneurs launch, grow, and raise money through more than 500 businesses. Its core programs include the Immigrant Startup Visa Program Accelerator, Food Incubator, Food Accelerator, as well as fundraising support.
In Vancouver, Spring Activator claims that it has helped impact startups raise more than $47.5 million in funding to date.
The mission of Future Capital, also based in Vancouver, is to create a more diverse cohort of investors at the angel, LP, and syndicate level. The organization, founded in 2020, aims to achieve this by partnering with individuals, Fortune 1000 companies, venture capitalists, and angel groups to offer education and community.
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Key investments from Spring Activator’s portfolio include Open Ocean Robotics, Moment Energy, and VoxCell BioInnovation. Key investments from Future Capital’s portfolio include Belliwelli, Curie, and Haloo (formerly Heirlume).
Spring Activator described Future Capital as the learning and investing platform built for underrepresented early-stage investors. Spring Activator is a global community and accelerator for both founders and investors. It works with notable partners across Canada, including Telus Pollinator Fund, the Digital Technology Supercluster, NRC IRAP, BDC, as well as other investors globally.
The acquisition comes at a time when minority populations will form the majority in North America by 2044, and over $68 trillion dollars of intergenerational wealth is expected to be in the hands of diverse groups and women in the next 30 years, contended Spring Activator.
Spring Activator maintains these trends demonstrate a clear need for more training and capacity building for investors and new investment into solutions that empower underrepresented groups.
Spring Activator is one of a number of accelerator programs for underrepresented communities that have sprung up in recent years. The Black Business Ventures Association (BBVA) launched its first accelerator program in 2021. The Black Seed Accelerator Program is a 12-week program forBlack-led tech startups and startups in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Google also opened its startup accelerator programs for Black and women founders to Canadian startups in 2021 as part of its efforts to support more business leaders from underrepresented communities.
Featured image courtesy of Spring Activator.
