Montréal, November 9, 2020 – To bring relief and support to businesses during the current pandemic, Export Development Canada (EDC) and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ (the “Fonds”) have joined forces, collaborating in areas in which they share priorities, such as financing for innovation, the cleantech sector and export market development. This partnership stemmed from discussions between the two organizations prior to the economic crisis, with the goal of collectively helping more businesses grow in an ever-competitive global market.
“Businesses have many challenges ahead as the economic effects of the pandemic continue to be felt. For the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, this new initiative with EDC will make it easier for entrepreneurs looking for the capital necessary to navigate through these trying times. We are looking forward to working more closely with our colleagues at EDC, as well as at other institutional investors, to build a more innovative economy, a key factor in ensuring the prosperity of our companies and workers,” said Janie Béïque, Executive Vice-President for Investments at the Fonds.
“EDC is pleased to join efforts with institutional investment partners like Fonds de solidarité FTQ, to support Canadian businesses through our investment Matching Program,” said Carl Burlock, Executive Vice-President and Chief Business Officer at EDC. “The strong synergy in our mandates to provide capital to growing businesses has deepened our partnership during the pandemic and we look forward to continued collaboration resulting in greater benefits for Canadian companies.”
As part of this initiative, EDC and the Fonds made a joint investment in Omnirobotic, a Laval-based robotics automation start-up, which closed a $6.5 million seed round in September. Both organizations are currently analyzing other files.
Thanks to the thousands of partner companies throughout Québec and in every sector of the economy, the Fonds has developed a keen understanding of the issues businesses are currently facing. That is how the Fonds invested $1.4 billion in the Québec economy during its 2019-2020 financial year, a 40% increase over the projection, namely in response to the economic consequences of the pandemic. More than 1,300 partner companies in the Fonds’ network also accepted the 6-month loan deferral offer made in mid-March.
In response to COVID-19, EDC is supporting Canadian exporters alongside its institutional investment partners, through its newly established investment Matching Program. The program was launched in April 2020, as an extension to the Business Credit Availability program (BCAP). The investment Matching Program provides urgently needed capital to Canadian businesses by matching up to a maximum of $5 million of equity, equity-linked, junior capital or other instrument invested by private sector institutional Venture Capital, Private Equity and corporate partners. The goal of the program is to help Canadian companies execute on their commercialization and growth plans and bridge them over these challenging economic times.
About EDC
Export Development Canada (EDC) is a financial Crown corporation dedicated to helping Canadian companies of all sizes succeed on the world stage. As international risk experts, we equip Canadian companies with the tools they need – the trade knowledge, financing solutions, equity, insurance, and connections – to grow their business with confidence. Underlying all our support is a commitment to sustainable and responsible business. To help Canadian businesses facing extreme financial challenges brought on by the global response to COVID-19, the Government of Canada has expanded EDC’s domestic capabilities until December 31, 2021. This broader mandate will enable EDC to expand its support to companies focused domestically.
For more information and to learn how we can help your company, call us at 1-800-229-0575 or visit www.edc.ca.
About Fonds de solidarité FTQ
Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a development capital investment fund that channels the savings of Quebecers into investments. As at May 31, 2020, the Fonds had $13.8 billion in net assets, and through its portfolio of investments supported 221,267 jobs. The Fonds is a partner in 3,329 companies and has 707,935 shareholder-savers.
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