NACO Atlantic Summit 2020 Speakers:
- Amber Mac, TV Host and Author
- JF Gauthier, CEO at Startup Genome
- Colin Mason, Professor of Entrepreneurship at University of Glasgow
- Marianne Hudson, Founder of the U.S. Angel Capital Association
- Stephen Nicolle, Island Capital Partners
- Senator Colin Deacon
- Michelle Simms, Genesis Centre
- Jeff White, NBIF
- Malcolm Fraser, InnovaCorp
- Nicole LeBlanc
- Jérôme Nyck, BDC
- Pieter Dorsman
The 2020 NACO Report on Angel Activity in Canada highlights that angel investment continues to be distributed unevenly across Canada and critical gaps exist in our national innovation ecosystem, hindering the emergence of high growth companies. In 2019, Central Canada accounted for 86% of investments compared with 13% in Western Canada and 1% in Atlantic Canada.
For more success stories to emerge from Atlantic Canada, we need to have our country’s best resources poised to support that company’s growth. We need investors and mentors at the ready, no matter where that company is located.
As long as these funding gaps persist, we will continue to be faced with unmet potential and the companies of the future will not have the support they need to thrive. Many of the startups that do scale and grow will look beyond their local communities to access the support they need.
The Atlantic provinces have leveraged an inspiring cohesiveness throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that has strengthened the local innovation landscape.
Now is the time to come together to celebrate the strength of the Atlantic innovation ecosystem and champion access to capital for entrepreneurs across urban and non-urban communities.