Montreal, December 17, 2017 – Ecofuel, a venture capital fund and specialized and personalized accelerator in the cleantech sector, announced today the first closing of the Ecofuel Fund, in the presence of the Quebec’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister responsible for the Northern Plan and the Fund’s limited partners: Investissement Québec, acting as mandatory of the Government of Québec, BDC Capital, the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Fondaction, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Centre Québécois de valorisation des biotechnologies (CQVB). The Ecofuel Fund, a $30M venture capital fund, will invest seed stage funding in cleantech startups from Quebec and eastern Canada.
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“The Ecofuel Fund will play a very important role in the Canadian cleantech ecosystem,” argues Nicolas Gravel, Director, Fund Investments at BDC Capital. “It meets the urgent need for funding and support of Quebec and Eastern Canada start-ups in this space. Then when these companies are ready to grow, they’ll be able to turn to investment funds in Canada that specialize in more advanced cleantech companies.”
“Clean technology companies are proposing innovative solutions to today’s challenges and are essential in the fight against climate change. By supporting the Ecofuel Seed Fund, we are continuing our commitment to establishing initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that have a positive impact on Quebec society. We applaud the enterprising spirit and creativity of Cycle Capital Management, which created the Fund,” explained Léopold Beaulieu, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fondaction.
“Québec is full of innovative entrepreneurs ready to confront the challenges of tomorrow’s green economy. The Fonds de solidarité FTQ’s investment in the Fonds Ecofuel is part of our commitment to bringing the capital necessary so that these entrepreneurs‘ dreams can become reality,” said Normand Chouinard, Executive Vice-President, Investments at the Fonds de solidarité FTQ.
“The creation of the Ecofuel Fund fills the gap in the cleantech funding chain. Cycle Capital, as an impact investor, is very happy to welcome a new investment player in the cleantech market and on behalf of its limited partners, offers its full collaboration to the Ecofuel Fund team, said Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing Partner of Cycle Capital, Co-Founder of the Ecofuel Fund.
“The innovative tech companies need funding to overcome the early stages of development. Johanne Sévigny, Managing Partner of the Ecofuel Fund and I join hands to thank our limited partners for the new source of smart funding and additional support they provide to help entrepreneurs grow their companies,” added Richard Cloutier, Managing Partner of the Ecofuel Fund.
The Ecofuel Fund is already operating and will soon announce investments in a few companies.
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.
About Fondaction
Fondaction invests in Québec’s SMEs to contribute to maintaining and creating jobs in Québec within a context of sustainable development. It manages more than $1.7 billion in assets from the retirement savings of more than 137,000 shareholders. Through its investments or commitments, either directly or through partner or specialized funds, Fondaction supports the development of more than 1,200 SMEs that contribute in a distinctive manner to the economic, social, and environmental development of Québec, in which there are many social economy enterprises.
About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ
The Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a capital development fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments. With $13.1 billion in net assets as at May 31, 2017, the Fonds has helped create and maintain over 186,440 jobs. The Fonds has more than 2,700 partner companies and 645,664 shareholder-savers. For more information, visit fondsftq.com.
About Ecofuel
Ecofuel is a venture capital fund and a specialized and personalized accelerator dedicated to cleantech startups. Ecofuel, powered by Cycle Capital, works with entrepreneurs to help build globally competitive companies. Ecofuel Fund invests smart money in seed and early stage startups that develop and commercializes clean technologies, while the Ecofuel Accelerator offers entrepreneurs training workshops, networking sessions, an experienced mentor ecosystem.
The Ecofuel Fund, a $30M venture capital fund co-founded by Cycle Capital, is funded by Investissement Québec, acting as mandatory of the Government of Québec, BDC Capital, the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Fondaction, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Centre Québécois de valorisation des biotechnologies (CQVB).
Information:
Catherine Bérubé
Head of Communications and Public Relations
cberube@ecofuelaccelerate.com
+1 514 629-1022
Web site: ecofuelaccelerate.com
Twitter: @ecofuelstartups
LinkedIn: Ecofuel
