Start-up Visa Designated Organizations

To apply for a start-up visa, your business idea or venture must obtain the support of one of the designated organizations listed below.

Designated Organizations select which business proposals to evaluate. If an organization decides to review your business proposal, it will assess your business’ growth potential and viability. Each organization has its own intake process and evaluation criteria.

If a designated organization chooses to support your business idea, they will provide you with a Letter of Support.

Designated Organizations

Venture Capital

To be eligible for the start-up visa, you must secure a minimum investment of CAD $200,000 from one or more of the following designated Canadian venture capital funds:

  • BDC Venture Capital
  • Blackberry Partners Fund II LP (doing business as Relay Ventures Fund II)
  • Celtic House Venture Partners
    • Celtic House Venture Partners Fund III LP
    • Celtic House Venture Partners Fund IV LP
  • DRI Capital Inc.
  • Golden Opportunities Fund Inc.
  • iNovia Capital Inc.
  • Lumira Capital
  • MaRS Cleantech Fund L.P. I.
  • New Brunswick Innovation Foundation Inc.
  • OMERS Ventures Management Inc.
  • Pangaea Ventures Fund III, LP
  • PRIVEQ Capital Funds
    • PRIVEQ III Limited Partnership
    • PRIVEQ IV Limited Partnership
  • Quorum Group
    • Advantage Growth (No.2) LP
    • Ontario SME Capital Corporation
    • Quorum Investment Pool Limited Partnership
    • Quorum Secured Equity Trust
  • Real Ventures
  • Rho Canada Ventures
  • Rogers Venture Partners, LLC
  • Summerhill Venture Partners Management Inc.
  • Tandem Expansion Management Inc.
  • Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
  • Version One Ventures
  • Wellington Financial LP
  • Westcap Mgt. Ltd.
    • Canadian Accelerator Fund Ltd.
  • Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.

Angel Investor Groups

To be eligible for the start-up visa, you must secure a minimum investment of CAD $75,000 if the investment comes from investors affiliated with one or more of the following designated Canadian angel investor groups:

  • Angel One Network Inc.
  • First Angel Network Association
  • Golden Triangle Angel Network

Business Incubators

To be eligible for the start-up visa, you must be accepted into one of the following designated Canadian business incubator programs:

  • Communitech
  • GrowLab
  • Innovacorp
  • Innovate Calgary
  • Toronto Business Development Centre

Please Contact Us for more information.

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