Canadian angel investors have poured about $89 million into startups this year, more than twice what was recorded in 2012, according to a new survey from the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO).
In an annual report detailing angel investments made in 2013, NACO found 29 angel groups had made 199 investments, while representing more than 2,100 investors. The sectors that received the most funding included information and communication technology (ICT), which garnered about $28.8 million, life sciences at $20.5 million, and clean technology, which netted $7.5 million.
Almost of the money invested came from central Canada, with about $70 million of the $89 million in Canada coming from that region. Western Canada contributed another $19 million. In terms of the median investment amount, the median in central Canada was about $215,000. In western Canada, it was $175,000, while it was about $135,000 in eastern Canada.
Canadian angel investors have also begun putting more money into follow-on funding, with follow-on rounds making up about 51 per cent of the total funding invested in 2013. That’s a jump up from 42 per cent in 2011, and just 18 per cent in 2012.
The survey’s authors found that in Canada, angel groups are putting down roots here, with a median age of five years. About 68 per cent of those groups are non-profit organizations, 14 per cent of them are for-profit, and 18 per cent have not been incorporated. Most of these groups tend to spread out their investments over more than sector, with just 25 per cent choosing to focus on one or two sectors, though almost all of them were involved with companies in ICT, life sciences, and clean tech.
However, angel groups aren’t the only ones developing the startup ecosystem. The study also looked at startup accelerators, surveying 12 that boosted 49 startups last year.
“A standout message in the 2013 Survey of Canadian Business Accelerators is that, despite their young age, business accelerators have established themselves as an important element of the start-up ecosystem,” the report’s authors wrote, adding that for accelerators, the biggest contributors of funding came from angel investors.
“The survey revealed that accelerator-backed companies are successful at attracting outside funding from angels, [venture capitalists], government, other investors, or a combination of these parties, while in the program. In fact, only seven of 49 accelerator-backed companies had not attracted any outside funding by the end of the program, a noteworthy reduction from the 33 companies that had not attracted outside funding at the beginning of their programs.”
Those startups received a total of $31.1 million in funding from angel investors, venture capitalists, and the government.
NACO partnered with the federal government, BDC Venture Capital, and KPMG Enterprise to release its report.