(Montreal) Women entrepreneurs have more difficulty obtaining financing. This sad reality offers a business opportunity for investors wanting to support these companies which sometimes go “under the radar”, according to two businesswomen who have just launched a venture capital fund.
Coming from the world of technology, businesswomen Christine Beaubien and Annick Charbonneau are launching the Accelia Capital fund with financial support from the Government of Quebec, which will inject a maximum sum of $ 25 million into it through Investissement Quebec.
The fund, which aims for a closing size of 50 million, will invest mainly in start-up companies which develop or integrate new technologies and which “accelerate the digital transformation of Quebec”.
One of the objectives of this fund is to finance 70% of companies owned by women or in which at least one woman holds a managerial position or is a shareholder with a minimum participation of 15% of the company’s equity.
“It’s an under-exploited niche,” explains Mme Beaubien in an interview on the sidelines of the ad. We are carried by the impact we can have, that’s clear, but also we think that there are beautiful jewels that are not revealed that we can go find and help develop. ”
Diversity also offers an asset in business decision-making, adds Mr.me Charbonneau. “It helps to see our blind spots. Often in business, it’s what we don’t see that hits us the hardest. The more diversity we have, the more we have the ability to see into our blind spots, and therefore to be more competitive and more productive. ”
Accelia Capital hopes to complete the fund’s close “by Christmas” to be able to deploy the funds in January. “We are already prepared,” says Mme Beaubien. We have several companies that we have met. We have a list of companies that we are looking at. In January, we will be able to be in operation. ”
The fund is expected to invest in “20 to 25” companies. “We made the choice to invest in companies rather than having a large number with small amounts and leaving them to themselves,” she adds. We really want to get involved in businesses. ”
In addition to the government of Quebec, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Fondaction, Banque Nationale and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec will be shareholders of the fund. Private sector partners include insurer Beneva, communications agency Cossette, streaming music specialist Stingray, and asset manager Fiera.
The Minister of the Economy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, underlined the participation of private investors in the financing of the fund. “The distribution of the funding for this fund, I find that extraordinary,” he said at a press conference. It is a step in the right direction. In the seed funds, there are countries where it is almost the entire government that does this. ”