The investment pool in Toronto just got bigger thanks to a new $100 million fund closed by Canadian VC Georgian Partners, which is its second growth equity fund. The first one, closed back in 2010, was half the size at $50 million, and this new one includes investment from the recently announced fund of funds initiative from the Canadian and provincial government as well as private investors, the Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund.
Other investors include BMO, Kensington Capital Partners, Fondaction and more, and the fund, like its predecessor, will be aimed at helping enterprise-focused startups looking to accelerate their growth take wing. Previous Georgian Partners portfolio companies include live event dynamic coverage platform ScribbleLive and Ottawa-based e-commerce giant Shopify.
Georgian’s investment strategy is built around something it calls “Applied Analytics,” which is the overlap point of ‘business processes, big data and information rights’. That’s quite the string of buzzwords, but it essentially amounts to companies that are focused on a particular tool needed by businesses, who use data analysis and above-board and transparent gathering of said data to solve enterprise problems.
Their portfolio includes a couple of companies focused on helping media companies embrace the web and mobile, as well as drive digital ad revenue, online shopping, digital rewards and loyalty, and fraud and privacy protection. The new fund will likely be used to support companies in the same general areas.
This is also a sign of what the Northleaf Venture Catalyst Fund will be used for in terms of helping to inject some life in the Canadian startup ecosystem. Georgian’s specific focus on growth doesn’t necessarily do much for early stage or consumer-focused startups, but B2B players with moderate success looking to kickstart their progress will definitely have a lot to gain from this fresh injection of capital.