Immigrant entrepreneurs can benefit from the help of any one of eight angel investors when applying for permanent residence in Canada under the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program, notes Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
“You must get one or more investors connected to these groups to agree to invest a minimum of $75,000,” notes the IRCC website.
Angel investors are one of the three designated categories of organizations, also including venture capital funds and business incubators, who must back an applicant under the SUV.
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Under the SUV, the current roster of angel investors available to help include:
- Canadian International Angel Investors, a Canadian company which helps early-stage technology companies move to Canada and assists key members of those companies to immigrate here;
- Ekagrata Inc., a private investment and holding company that seeks to build long-term businesses with a global presence;
- Golden Triangle Angel Network, a network offering angel investors who want to take an active role in the companies in which they invest pre-selected, investment-ready opportunities;
- Keiretsu Forum Canada, a global investment network with more than 50 chapters and over 3,000 accredited private equity investors, venture capitalists, family offices and corporate/institutional investors;
- Oak Mason Investments Inc., an early-stage venture fund targeting global entrepreneurs;
- TenX Angel Investors Inc., a company that invests in start-ups and helps scale up sales and marketing and business model innovation;
- VANTEC Angel Network Inc., a group of angel investors that supports British Columbia-based companies, and;
- York Angel Investors Inc., a member-based not-for-profit group of accredited investors seeking to invest in early-stage start-ups primarily in B2B and B2C SaaS, fintech, clean tech, IoT, insure tech, health tech, industrial automation, CPG, and marketplace solutions.
Angel investors are high-net-worth individuals who provide financial backing for small start-ups or entrepreneurs, usually asking for ownership equity in these companies.
In day-to-day business, angel investors can be members of the entrepreneur’s family or friends.
Under the SUV, the groups that provide access to these much-needed investment dollars can only come from that list approved by the Canadian government.
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When a prospective immigrate to Canada decides to apply under the SUV, his or her business idea must get the support of either a venture capital fund, angel investor group, or a business incubator.
These organizations choose which business proposals to review and each has its own intake process for proposals and criteria used to assess them.
If that organization gives the SUV applicant’s proposal the two thumbs up, it will provide a letter of support, allowing the prospective immigrant to continue with the process.
