Announcement at Alberta Cleantech Investment Summit, March 11.
An Alberta cleantech company will be selected to receive $140,000 in seed funding at the Alberta Cleantech Investment Summit (the Summit). The virtual event takes place on March 11.
The announcement concludes a process that engaged 28 investors - some seasoned, some first-time investors - each contributing $5,000 to form an Angel syndicate. Over the past 5 weeks, the investors heard pitches from the province’s top emerging cleantech companies, and conducted due diligence while learning about investing from experienced angel groups, and some of Canada’s leading cleantech venture capitalists. Five finalists will pitch at the Summit where one will be selected to receive game-changing seed funding, and visibility in front of a global audience. In addition to the seed funding granted, Energy Futures Lab is awarding $25,000 of non-dilutive funding to one of the presenting companies.
The participant companies are:
Alberta’s cleantech ventures have historically struggled to find early stage investors. This initiative seeks to transform the funding landscape by forging a community of skilled and committed investors who will ‘lean in’ to help these ventures break through. The Summit is a partnership between Startup TNT, the Alberta Clean Technology Industry Alliance (ACTia), Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre (Foresight), and the Energy Futures Lab (EFL).
Find out more at: www.abcleantechsummit.ca
Quotes
"We are extremely impressed with the quality of the cleantech companies in our province and the enthusiasm with which Alberta investors have embraced the collaborative, community-building approach to make the final investment decision." -Zack Storms, Founder, Startup TNT
“Foresight recognizes how important it is for cleantech ventures to access capital in order to scale. We are pleased to support the Alberta Cleantech Investment Summit’s efforts to engage impact investors, support innovators, and drive cleantech innovation in Alberta.” - Jeanette Jackson, CEO, Foresight
“We, along with our terrific partners, are thrilled to see the extraordinary interest among Albertans in backing our province’s emerging cleantech entrepreneurs, making a profit while making a difference.” - Jason Switzer, Executive Director, ACTia
"The Energy Futures Lab has over five years of experience working collaboratively with energy leaders, leveraging their passion and expertise to create the energy system the future requires of us. These leaders are also actively engaged as EFL Fellows and have since uplifted a number of exciting technologies and business models, some of which are now being featured as part of the Alberta Cleantech Investment Summit. These efforts are shaping up to be a very powerful expression of how to profile and accelerate cleantech in Alberta." - Matt Mayer, Lead, Special Projects, Energy Futures Lab.
For more information, please contact:
Astrid Nunez
604-358-5079
About Startup TNT
Startup TNT is dedicated to increasing the pool of sophisticated Angel investors in a local startup ecosystem. To accomplish this, we bring investors and entrepreneurs together through investment summits where the investors screen local tech companies as a team, share the work of doing due diligence, share best practices on early-stage investing and democratically select at least one local company for investment.
About Alberta Clean Technology Industry Alliance
ACTia is the leading voice for Alberta’s cleantech sector; fostering local and global connections between technology developers, entrepreneurs, investors and customers; and is accelerating industry development. Ensuring our members lead the way in clean technologies will help sustain regional economic growth, positioning Alberta as a leader in cleantech. Learn more about ACTia at www.actia.ca.
About Foresight Cleantech Accelerator Centre
Foresight is Canada’s cleantech ecosystem accelerator. Foresight supports the identification and validation of cleantech opportunities and the successful commercialization of solutions. We bring together industry, government, academia, investors, and innovators to address today’s most urgent climate issues and support a global transition to a green economy. Find out more at www.foresightcac.com and follow on Twitter @ForesightCAC.
About Energy Futures Lab
The Energy Futures Lab (EFL) is an Alberta-based coalition of innovators and leading organizations working together to advance solutions aligned with a 2050 vision for Canada’s energy future. Powered by The Natural Step Canada (TNSC), a national charity with a mission to accelerate the transition to a truly sustainable society, the Energy Futures Lab was created to address a growing sense of polarization around energy topics in Alberta. Visit www.energyfutureslab.com to learn more.
