Top 40 Organic Food Startup Investors in Canada

Venture capital funding for Canadian entrepreneurs. District Ventures Capital is led by Arlene Dickinson and invests in innovative food & health sector companies.

InvestEco invests in innovative companies in the Food & Agriculture Sector. Learn More about our process, people, and companies.

Cycle Capital is a pioneer in Canadian Cleantech venture capital fund management investing in companies at the development and commercialization stages in North America. Founded in 2009 by Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Managing Partner, Cycle Capital’s Platform has become an important venture capital investor of the Cleantech industry with its 3funds totaling $230M Assets Under Management (AUM). Cycle Capital is looking to invests in promising ventures that are not capital intensive and/or that can benefit from the leverage brought by Cycle Capital extensive network of investors, strategic partners and advisors.In addition to its core investments, Cycle Capital targets companies with high growth potential – especially those with strong intellectual property, leading edge technologies and with exceptional management talent that would benefit from the firm’s network of strategic industrial partners and expert advisors. With its core investment and business expertise, Cycle Capital plays an active role adding meaningful and tangible value to its portfolio companies at all stages of their life.

Export Development Canada (EDC) is a Crown corporation dedicated to assisting Canadian businesses of all sizes in achieving global success. It provides them with the tools they need to grow their business with confidence, including trade knowledge, financial solutions, equity, insurance, and connections.

Since its creation in 1996, Fondaction has been based on the belief that it is not only possible to do things differently in the financial and business world, it is a necessity.Fondaction helps Québecers prepare for retirement by offering affordable retirement savings to everyone. The savings collected are invested in companies across Québec.This way, Fondaction helps create and maintain quality jobs, contributing to a stronger, more equitable and greener economy.Created in 1996, Fondaction is a labour-sponsored fund with assets in excess of one billion dollars collected as retirement savings from more than 131,000 shareholders. Fondaction's direct investments and those made through investment funds support the development of more than 1 050 SMEs in different lines of business, in large part involved in various components of the social economy.Fondaction has always been resolutely committed to socially responsible finance, from the moment it was created. The principles of sustainable development are integrated in everything it does. Whether investing in businesses directly or in capital markets, Fondaction always applies the principles of responsible investment to the money entrusted by its savers.Fondaction was one of the first institutions in Québec to make accountability reports an obligation in an effort to improve its practices and contribute to moving sustainable development forward in Québec. It produced its first report on sustainable development in 2006 in accordance with the international standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the highest standards of precision and transparency in economic, social and environmental accountability.In 2010 and 2012, Fondaction remained at the forefront with its 3rd and 4th sustainable development reports, having them reviewed by an independent firm and achieving an application level of A+ from the GRI. Fondaction is the only financial institution in Québec to achieve this level.In 2014, Fondaction tabled its 5th sustainable development report, produced in accordance with the latest GRI guidelines, the G4. Fondaction also opted for Comprehensive compliance, becoming the 1st financial institution in North America and the 9th in the world to voluntarily adhere to these requirements.

Desjardins Capital makes it easy to grow your business with financial and strategic support. Investment capital and venture capital can help you meet your business goals.

Avrio Capital is a venture capital and private equity investment firm specializing in commercialization to growth-stage companies with a focus on later-stage, early stage, mid venture, middle market, and emerging growth businesses. It also provides mezzanine financing. Avrio Capital prefers to invest in food technology, advanced agriculture,industrial bioproducts, and nutraceutical ingredients and innovative companies that provide solutions to global challenges in the areas of health, wellness and sustainability. It invests in companies based in Canada and North America. Avrio Capital seeks to invest between CAD $1 million $0.77 million to CAD $10 million $7.70 million, with significant capital reserved for subsequent financing rounds over the life of the portfolio company. It seeks to invest in companies with sales value between CAD $1 million $0.77 million and CAD $20 million $15.40 million. Avrio Capital prefers to take an active role in each investment it makes. It began operation in 2006, with its headquarters in Alberta in Canada and additional offices in Ontario and Quebec therein.

Forage Capital Partners is a growth equity fund for Ag & Food Business Solutions. Forage Capital is an investor in the agriculture and food industry, who invests in uncertain times to help Canadian companies grow profitably and compete on the world stage.

Mike Fata is the Founder at Manitoba Harvest. He attended Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

The Government of Canada is making it easier for Canadians to find and access government information and services online through its central website, Canada.ca. The website is the single entry point for all government information and services available online and is accessible using any device with an Internet connection, including tablets ormobile phones. Its portal shows how government works, its priorities, laws, finances, transparency, digital government, and policies.

Eric Patel was first elected to the Ritchie Bros. Board in 2004. Mr. Patel has extensive business and financial experience, most recently as CFO of Pembrook Mining Corp. (formerly Paget Resources Corporation), a private mining company that he left in 2010. Prior to that Mr. Patel acted as the CFO of CrystalDecisions, Inc., a privately heldsoftware company. Mr. Patel joined Crystal Decisions in 1999 after holding executive level positions, including that of CFO, with University Games, Inc., a privately held manufacturer of educational toys and games. Before 1997, Mr. Patel worked for Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream as Director of Strategy, for Marakon Associates strategy consultants and for Chemical Bank. Mr. Patel sits on the Advisory Board of ACL Services Ltd, the board of Daiya Foods Inc. and is treasurer of B.C. Social Ventures Partners, a not for profit-organization. Mr. Patel holds an MBA degree. Mr. Patel is currently a member of the Audit Committee and is Chair of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.

Ethan Song has lived and worked around the world, with major stints in Shanghai, Paris and Vancouver. His independent travels and his background in theatre and engineering inspired him to merge art with science and technology, and ultimately, to co-found Frank & Oak. As the company’s CEO, Ethan oversees product design and development and thecustomer shopping experience.

Andrew has held a number of director and executive positions for large multinationals and has 30 years of experience in international business. He has a strong background in growing businesses including 17 years as a CEO.From 2003 to 2011, Andrew was CEO of Fonterra Co-Operative Group, New Zealand's largest company. Prior to Fonterra,Andrew served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and director of GSW of Toronto, a manufacturer of consumer durable products and, prior to GSW, Andrew was President and CEO of Tate & Lyle North America Sugars of New York and President of Redpath Sugars in Toronto.Andrew currently runs his own investment company, Canz Capital, is Chairman of the New Zealand Government's economic development agency New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, sits on the Council of the University of Auckland and, in addition to Orion Health, sits on the boards of Bunge Ltd. in New York and Lufa Farms Inc. in Montreal, as well as other advisory and charitable boards.Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Business Administration from Concordia University.

We are BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs. We support small and medium-sized businesses in all industries and at every stage of growth with money and advice. We are the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Renewal Funds is a mission venture capital firm. We add value for entrepreneurs through capital, networks, and expertise. We aim for above market returns for our partners while catalyzing social and environmental change.Building upon our experience investing in successful high-impact businesses, Renewal Funds focuses on underfunded sectorsof organic food and environmental innovation; sectors critical to a sustainable economy where we can support meaningful shifts in consumer behaviour. Renewal Funds supports passionate, experienced, change-agent entrepreneurs, whose business we can help grow with our capital, networks and expertise.For updates, please visit us online at renewalfunds.com

Value-added investors for innovative entrepreneurs.

Women-powered capital building the Financial Feminist Economy.

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Advisor

Terry Tierney

Dror Balshine is the President at Sol Cuisine Inc. Dror Balshine attended The University of British Columbia.

John Flanagan

Whitecap Venture Partners is a Canadian-based Venture Capital fund investing in early stage technology companies. Whitecap is headquartered in Toronto and invests across Canada and the Northeastern US. Since Whitecap’s inception the early 1990s, Whitecap recognises the power of real collaboration between entrepreneurs and investors. This rapportenables them to provide significant value to companies along with strong returns across investment cycles.Whitecap specialises in Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and Medical Technologies. Whitecap is continually searching for upcoming ventures to support as the next generation of exceptional enterprises.

Chris Adams - Founder & Managing Director @ Adams Hamilton

Natural Products Canada provides insight, introduction, and investment to help entrepreneurs, corporations, and investors leverage the growing demand for naturally-derived products. It connects industry, investors, researchers, and others to help innovative natural products reach their full potential in the market. The company works with smallcompanies, large and multinational corporations, research institutions, investors, innovation and economic development agencies, and business, and commercialization experts such as IP, marketing, and regulatory consultants. Collaborating with these many stakeholders, the company evaluates products and technologies, helps companies overcome commercialization hurdles, and invest in the opportunities that show the most promise.

An investing firm.

We are BDC, the bank for Canadian entrepreneurs. We support small and medium-sized businesses in all industries and at every stage of growth with money and advice. We are the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Dux capital Invests in the new generation of Latinx heroes

A Technology Investment Fund

Scott Elaine Cas

Kubo is a company that manages complete greenhouse projects.

Founder

Mohamed Hage is a young entrepreneur with a demonstrated track record of success and over 10 years of experience running software and real estate companies. He has a talent for inspiring passion in employees and an incredible knack for forging connections with experts from a diverse range of specialties. He conceived of Lufa Farms in the early2000s based on his childhood experiences with agriculture and fresh produce in a village just outside of Beirut.

Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in investments in start-ups, early venture, mergers, business acquisitions, management buyouts, market development project or a buyout, financing for new programs, organic growth and cash flow, growth and expansion financings, development capital, business succession,financial restructuring, business transition financing, family and non-family buyout, consolidations, turnaround, and leveraged management buyouts. It also invests in new markets, product and business line developments, market diversification, interim financings, new product marketing, additional working capital, purchase of tangible and intangible assets, equipment modernization, equipment purchases or upgrades, and integrator projects. The firm has regional funds that do not invest in retail, real estate, farming, biotechnology, and financial services. Fonds de solidarité FTQ invests in small and medium-sized businesses. It typically invests in export projects, forest products, productivity improvement, natural resources, aerospace, agri-food, wood, pulp and paper, chemicals, construction and construction materials, printing, transportation equipment and automobiles, transportation services, furniture and fixtures, combinatorial chemistry and other lead generating technologies, mining and exploration, social economy, textiles, plastics, life sciences, business services, telecommunications, distribution and consumer goods, environment, equipment and machinery, financial services, information and communication technology, metal products, recreational tourism, and culture sectors. Within the culture sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest in pre-production and creative projects, production projects, infrastructures and services, post-production projects, distribution, and broadcasting and multiplatform broadcasting. Within the environment sector, it invests in waste management and energy conversion for residual waste; air treatment and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; processes to reduce industrial energy and water consumption; water treatment; and soil rehabilitation and decontamination (metals and organic compounds). Within the life sciences sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ focuses on services for the biopharmaceutical industry; nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals; diagnostics and medical supplies and equipment; biopharmaceuticals and generic drugs; biotechnology, and animal health. Within the tourism sector, it focuses on urban tourism, nature tourism, resort type tourism, and local tourism for Quebecers, and in the textiles sector it invests in companies engaged in development and production of specialty textiles as well as development of industrial applications for the construction, transportation, health and safety, and work apparel industries. Fonds de solidarité FTQ prefers to invest in Quebec and in companies impacting the Québec economy. It focuses on investing in the following regions- Abitibi –Témiscamingue, Bas Saint Laurent, Chaudière-Appalaches, Côte-Nord, Estrie, Gaspésie Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Lanaudière, Laurentides, Laval, Mauricie - Centre-du-Québec, Montérégie, Nord-du-Québec, Outaouais, and Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest in projects of $3 million or more and also provides loans of up to $ 2 million. It invests in companies in business succession sector having minimum capitalization of $500,000 and EBITDA of over $35.5 million in case of majority interest; equipment and machinery sector with average investment in excess of $3 million; environment sector with funding needs of more than $500000; financial services sector having net assets between $20 million and $50 million in equity; metal products sector having annual sales of over $5 million and financing needs of at least $2 million; and printing sector having investment needs of over $1 million. In the information technology sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest $2 million as initial investments while total investments can be more than $10 million. It invests in the form of equity financing (common or preferred shares) and unsecured debt requiring no collateral (debenture). Fonds de solidarité FTQ can take both a minority interest including an equity stake of up to 49 percent as well a majority interest in its portfolio companies in case of business succession financing. It seeks a minority stake for the portfolio companies in the equipment and machinery sector. It typically holds its investments for a period of five to ten years in case of equity financing and for more than ten years in case of business succession financing. Fonds de solidarité FTQ began operation on June 23, 1983. It has its headquarters in Montreal in Canada with additional offices in the same city and Quebec in the same country.

The Ontario Centres of Excellence invests in projects and people to accelerate industry R&D to impact the Ontario economy through the commercialization of leading edge research.OCE invests in- Industry-Academic collaborative research- Commercialization of academic research through licensing and spin off companies- Early stage seedfinancing of start-ups- Skills development for high quality personnelThe Ontario Centres of Excellence is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1987. Core funding is provided by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation

Furneaux Capitalis is a capital investing company in breakthrough markets and ideas.

New Acres Capital is an investment company that supports companies that contribute for future food.

Rathmell, a trained biochemist, started working with Lufa Farms as a researcher at McGill’s MacDonald campus. She played a large role in the development of the plant science and growing science that Lufa eventually implemented, including the NFT and drip irrigation systems, the use of biological pest controls, the microclimate and crop rotationsystems, and the selection of crop varieties. Rathmell currently supervises all greenhouse operations as well as research and development

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The E-Fund (VANTEC Entrepreneurs Fund VCC Inc.) was established in 2011 to invest in promising new ventures in British Columbia in a wide range of industry sectors. They are focused on co-investing with other angel investors and early-stage venture capital firms in seed-stage companies with high growth opportunities.The E-Fund involvesspecific investors in the investment due diligence process depending on their industry experience and knowledge and their particular technical expertise. It is their goal to become the ‘Go-to Braintrust’ for active and in-depth angel investing.