Venture for Canada Announces National Scale-Up Partnership With BDC Capital
TORONTO, [ July 28th, 2016] — Venture for Canada, a not-for-profit organization that recruits, trains, and supports recent graduates to work at leading Canadian startups, with the mission of fostering entrepreneurship, announced BDC Capital as its National Scale-Up Partner.
“We are proud to partner with BDC Capital to provide education to our Fellows and partner startups on best practices for creating high growth companies,” said Scott Stirrett, Executive Director of Venture for Canada.
As part of the partnership, Venture for Canada will be organizing the “BDC Canadian Scale-Up Speaker Series” featuring high profile Canadian entrepreneurs who have built and grown successful firms. Mark Organ, Founder and CEO of Influitive, will be the first presenter in the series, at an event on August 18th. Influitive recently raised a nearly $40 million Series B investment round, and has close to 200 employees.
“BDC Capital helps build outstanding companies,” said Jérôme Nycz, Executive Vice President, BDC Capital. “We are excited to support the work of Venture for Canada in educating the next generation of Canadian entrepreneurs on what it takes to scale startups and create high growth firms.”
Later this year, Annette Verschuren, Chair and CEO of NRStor, will be speaking as part of the speaker series. Ms. Verschuren was formerly president of The Home Depot Canada and Asia, overseeing the growth of the company’s Canadian operations from 19 to 180 stores between 1996 and 2011 and led the company’s entry into China. Prior to joining The Home Depot, Ms. Verschuren was president and co-owner of Michaels of Canada, the country’s largest chain of arts and crafts stores.
About Venture for Canada
Venture for Canada is a not-for-profit that recruits, trains, and supports recent graduates to work at Canadian startups and growth companies in need of talent, with the mission of fostering Canadian entrepreneurship. Venture for Canada Fellows spend two years working at a Canadian startup, in addition to a five-week Fellow Training Camp, and ongoing mentorship. Through the program, recent graduates gain the experience, network, and training to successfully launch their own firms. For the most recent cohort, 1700 Canadian youth applied for only 55 Fellowships. To find out more, visit www.VentureForCanada.ca.
About BDC Capital
With more than $2 billion under management, BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC, serving as a strategic partner to Canada’s most innovative and high potential firms. It offers a range of equity, venture capital and flexible growth and transition capital solutions to help Canadian entrepreneurs scale their businesses into global champions. To find out more, visit bdc.ca/capital.
Scott Stirrett
Executive Director, Venture for Canada
scott@ventureforcanada.ca
902–401–0041
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Maria Constantinescu
Senior Advisor, Media Relations
BDC
1–844- 625–8321
