BC government launches $100-million VC tech fund

The first of three planks in the forthcoming BCTECH Strategy was unveiled with the announcement of a $100-million venture capital fund — the province's first major government-backed venture fund since the $90-million British Columbia Renaissance Capital Fund (R$, April 30/08). The BC Tech Fund comes at a time when the BC tech sector is growing rapidly, outperforming the rest of the province in job creation and revenue growth, contributing over $23 billion to provincial GDP. The government has launched an open procurement process for a fund manager and the fund will become operational next year. The BC Tech Fund is the capital centrepiece of the new strategy, along with talent and markets, with the aim of deepening the province's tech talent pool, attracting outside investment and expanding international markets. The new Fund addresses concerns that the last provincial Budget lacked any provisions for financial support for the tech sector, particularly series ‘A' financing (R$, February 26/15). The BC Tech Fund mainly targets so-called series ‘A' gap but will also scale-up investment opportunities. It is similar to the federal $400-million Venture Capital Action Plan which was launched in 2013. Details of the full tech strategy will be announced at the BC Tech Summit in Vancouver, January 18-19….