It took a 10-month search but the B.C. government has locked down a fund manager to run its $100-million venture capital fund aimed at the West Coast tech sector.
The province is set to announce Friday afternoon (October 21) Toronto’s Kensington Capital Partners will be managing the B.C. Tech Fund, first unveiled last December by Premier Christy Clark. Kensington will also take over the province’s $90-million Renaissance fund.
Business in Vancouver reported in April the province had tapped Kensington to manage the $100-million fund of funds, beating out at least two B.C. entities.
Clark said in December she wanted a private-sector manager running the B.C. Tech Fund by spring 2016.
Sources tell BIV the fund’s launch was delayed due to the complexity of the agreement. A total of 12 groups delivered proposals to the B.C. government to manage the fund before three were shortlisted.
The province in turn hired a professional negotiator from PwC to hammer out the details with Kensington.
Victoria’s requirements for the fund manager included having a managing partner based in B.C. and agreeing only to invest in local startups.
Kensington did not have an office in B.C. when it submitted its proposal.
It has since brought on one of its advisory board members, Gerri Sinclair, to lead its new Vancouver office. Sinclair is the former president of the Premier’s Technology Council.
Vancouver-based software developer Mojio, known for technology that connects cars to the Internet, is the first startup to get an investment from the fund of funds.
It could not be confirmed by press time how much Mojio would receive from the B.C. Tech Fund.
But the province has said the fund is focusing on companies that need early-stage funding — also known as series A funding.
Depending on the technology subsector, series A funding ranges from $1-10 million.
The government expects the fund to last no more than 15 years, while an unknown portion of the $100 million will be covered by gains from the fund made after 2023.
Kensington previously helped provincial bureaucrats in charge of the Renaissance fund choose venture capital funds in which to invest.
--With a file from Kirk LaPointe
